Cuckoos: The Tale of Whitecurrent
by Nevra Black
Summary: A cuckoo is a bird that abandons it's baby to be raised by another bird, the parent non the wiser; it does not realize the chick that's bigger and stronger than it's other kids isn't it's own. Alicia Burton is nothing like her brother and sisters, stuck in her family's dysfunction. Until one day she saves a boy's life, and thus Stirling and Sideswipe enter her life. A bit AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Plot Bunny! Yay! Here ya go!  
**

**I will warn you now. There is violence, mild swearing, murder and attempted suicide, so far, in this story! If any of those things listed bug you, then this ain't the story for you. Otherwise, please, enjoy!**

* * *

_A nest parasite is a species that does not raise it's own offspring, but rather finds a temporarily unguarded nest and lays it's eggs there. The host parent will protect the egg, raise the chick and nurture it. Despite the fact it looks nothing like the rest of it's babies, being larger, stronger and aggressive. The parasite chick will eventually become a danger to the other chicks, and push the other babies out of the nest to die of exposure, insuring the parasite's survival. A fine example of this is the Cuckoo, which is perhaps the most famous of the aptly named nest parasites, but by no means is she the only kind..._

* * *

Alicia Burton sat alone in her room, staring at herself in the shiny screen of her cell phone. Downstairs, something smashed against the wall, and her mother began to scream obscenities at her latest boy-toy. He returned fire, and there was another crash. Alicia curled up into a fetal ball, her dirty blonde hair getting in her face. She would not cry. Why would she? It wasn't like this would be the first time that her mother had ruined her own life. It wasn't the first time, but it still hurt the teenager.

Alicia stared at the walls, covered in different posters, drawings of aliens she'd created, photographs from conspiracy sites. A shelf full of books, ranging from Tolkien, to Asimov, to Holly Black, all lined neatly with well worn spines turned out, showing the names. Action figures and dolls dressed in odd clothes lined the dresser, Barbies scrounged from garage sales and thrift shops, G.I Joe next to them. But one thing you notice was the one picture on the far wall. It was huge, bought with Alicia's money earned from various odd jobs, a professional canvas painted with acrylics. It showed a metallic planet floating in a sea of black space, one that she saw in her minds eye. She knew it from somewhere, a memory of some kind. But as soon as Alicia saw it, she knew it was important. She knew she had had to paint it.

Alicia glanced at the picture, closing her eyes tightly. Then she walked to the window, creeping out, blocking out the screams from downstairs.

Alicia climbed down the ruined trellis, the ruined hops plant crumbling like dust when she touched it. Landing on the ground, Alicia stepped onto the yellowing grass, and looked up at the orange light of her room.

The screaming was still audible, and still horrible. Alicia looked coldly at the front door, then turned away. She was not going to waste her time listening to this all evening.

She grabbed her bike, hopping onto it and pedaling towards Swift Brook Mall. She smiled as she saw it, still open, a refuge. Maybe Tasha was still on shift, and Alicia could catch her after she was done, then they could just head to the Blue Moon cafe.

Alicia put her bike into the rack, and locked it. She caught sight of the boy as she looked up, standing in the middle of the road, speaking heatedly into a cell phone.

Immediately, she looked sharply at him, doing a double take. A car skidded towards him through the parking lot, he seemed oblivious until it was too late.

Eyes as green as Alicia's own widened in shock as the car screamed towards him, black hair framing the expression in his face.

Alicia screamed, and felt a surge through her arms. The world glowed blue, and the pain was enough to knock Alicia down onto the cement. The world went black, Alicia gasping as her lungs felt fit to burst.

When Alicia woke up, the boy was kneeling beside her.

"Holy shit." He said breathlessly. "What the hell did you do?"

"Nothing." Alicia said. Her tongue felt heavy and dry.

"No. You saved my life." Said the boy. "You made a shield. Out of blue light."

Alicia shook her head. "No. Seriously, dude, you're crazy."

"That's just it." He told her. "I thought I was crazy. I thought I was the only one."

The blonde shook her head. "I gotta go." She said.

The boy helped her up. energy crackled as soon as she touched him, blue-white and red sparks. Alicia took one more look at him, watching as a new car, a silver corvette, drove up behind him. Alicia felt a chill, looking at the boy.

"Stay away." Said Alicia. She looked at the corvette, saw it had no driver, and suddenly information began run through her brain.

Situation- Dangerous.

Subjects- Unknown.

Solution- Run.

Alicia, gasping and exhausted, took one last look at the boy and the driverless car, and ran into the mall.

The boy looked as though to go after her, only to be stopped by the car.

"No, Stirling." Said the corvette. "Let her be. You were just as frightened when you found out."

"So what do we do, Sides?" Asked Stirling.

"Nothing yet." Sides opened the drivers side door, letting the kid inside. "Let's find some shelter for you. She won't go far."

* * *

Stirling stared at his hands, alone in the hotel room again. It was all he could do not to think about the girl who'd saved him. She hadn't seen Sideswipe transform and grab the car full of hoodlums. She'd woken up just as he'd come back from dumping them somewhere they'd have a helluva time escaping. Where exactly the Autobot hadn't said, and Stirling probably didn't want to know.

Stirling wondered whether the circuits were visible under her skin, whether she was developing a taste for things humans couldn't eat, like oil.

Probably not yet. It seemed to increase when you were around one of Them. With Stirling, he'd only shorted out a lot of appliances and blasted the school bully with some energy. When Sides had found him, though, everything had gone into overdrive. Forget puberty, this was far more confusing.

The boy rolled over on the bed, ignoring the noises coming from the room next door. He hated it when Sideswipe said they couldn't camp. For some reason the mech had decided that if human shelter was available, he should dump his charge in there. And it was always one of those seedy places you saw on police dramas. Stirling walked over to the window and peeked out. Sideswipe was out there somewhere, hiding. A corvette would be like a whippet in a pack of chihuahuas around here. Stirling grabbed his backpack and sat on the floor, digging through and producing the old newspaper clippings, his old, battered sketch of a metal planet, and his note book. He flipped through the entries.

_Lutasha Mason- Striker. Boston. Status- offlined_

_Mark Browning- Deuce. New Orleans. Status- offlined_

_Manson Cowerd- Darkslaughter. Los Angeles. Status- unknown_

The list went on and on. Twenty total, all like him. And now a new one.

Stirling began to write underneath the last one in pencil.

Name- Unknown. Truename. Unknown. Swift Brook. Status- Acquiring.

"We aren't going to lose you, kid." Said Stirling, with dark determination. "They won't get you too."

And that was a promise.

* * *

**So, what do you think? Let me know with a comment and feel free to ask questions. Remember, if you like it and want more, be sure to tell me.**

**Love Ya'll!**

**-Nevra  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, we met a young girl named Alicia, who saved a strange boy named Stirling from being killed. A boy who seems to know something about her she doesn't. Let's see where this goes.**

* * *

In visions of the dark night

I have dreamed of joy departed-

But a waking dream of life and light

Hath left me broken hearted.

-Edgar Allan Poe, 'A Dream'.

* * *

Alicia and Tasha sat together in the Blue Moon Cafe. Tasha was listening to Alicia's story about the boy with wide eyes, her undrunk cappuccino growing colder with every detail.

"You're joking?" Said Tasha. "He actually claimed you made an energy shield? Where exactly was that supposed to come from? He's probably some drugged up vagrant."

"He had a corvette, Tash." Said Alicia. "A silver, smoking hot corvette."

"Probably stole it." Said Tasha. "You did the right thing coming in here before he did something worse than talk crazy." After a sip of her coffee, she looked thoughtfully at Alicia. "Do you want to report him? He might be dangerous."

"No." Alicia said quickly. "I don't think he'll do anything, really. He seemed-"

"Harmless?" Said Tasha. She frowned. "Ally, I have no idea how you say that after how many times you've had problems with your mama's boytoys."

"I believe all people deserve a chance, Tasha." Said Alicia, quietly. Tasha grinned. "Girl. You are too good for this town."

Alicia shrugged, smiling a bit. She grabbed Tasha's cappuccino, sniffed it and handed it back, cradling her own green tea. "I dunno how you drink that, Tash."

"I'm normal?" Said Tash, with a wicked grin. "Hey. Was he at least a cute crazy person?"

"Natasha!" Exclaimed Alicia, blushing.

"Oooh! He was! He was!" Tasha giggled insanely. Alicia grinned sheepishly.

"Shut up." She said. Tasha grinned.

"This calls for chocolate crepes!" Said Tasha with a grin. "Here's to escaping handsome, corvette driving crazy people."

Alicia grinned, but was still thinking of how there had been something about both corvette and boy that had frightening familiarity.

And she couldn't place it at all.

Alicia arrived home around 11 o'clock. The house was dark, and Alicia knew it was locked up. She walked up, grabbed the key from it's hiding place and went inside, tiptoeing.

Too late, though.

"Alicia Bridget Burton!"

Alicia winced and looked at her mother, sitting on the couch with a deadly frown on her face.

"Uh, hi Mum." Said Alicia.

"Where were you?" Asked Acacia Burton. Well, ask was putting it nicely. It was more a demand. Oh damn.

"I was out with Natasha." Said Alicia. "Having coffee at the Blue Moon."

"You snuck out." Said Ms. Burton. "Again. And went into that part of down!"

"Mom! Oh my god, why do you even care!" Alicia waved her hands, gesturing at the hole in the wall. "You were too busy arguing with your latest failure to notice if I'd been kidnapped by some pervert or psycho!" Alicia glared at Acacia. "Seriously, stop pretending."

"I do care, Ally."  
Alicia shrugged. "Yeah. Cause you're going to give Ricky the same pep talk when he gets home. Oh, wait, he's been gone how long? And have you gone off to look for him?"

"Ally, Ricky can look after him himself. You-"

Alicia had stormed off by then, not caring whether she woke up Cadence, her eternally depressed, suicidal and emotional sister. Alicia crawled into bed, miserable. She heard her mother's door close down the hall.

She couldn't stay here, Alicia thought. Elise had the right idea, leaving home so long ago.

Soon, decided Alicia. Like before boytoy Ben gets back.

* * *

"_Sideswipe!" _

_The silver 'Bot turned around, smiling at the approaching femme. _

"_Hey, Whitecurrent! What's up?"_

_The dark blue and white femme smiled at Sideswipe. _

"_The ship's here!" _

_Sideswipe looked at her, optics widening. "Is Sunny on board?"_

"_They're trying to hold him back."_

_Sideswipe grinned and they raced to the landing pad, weaving through the base and the other soldiers. Whitecurrent came up beside two other mechs, watching as the ship approached. _

"_Impressive." Said Mirage, his arms crossed and optics narrowed against the swirling rust particles. _

"_Sure is." Said Cliffjumper, grinning. "Do you think the Prime's really on there? For real?"_

"_He should be." Said Whitecurrent. "What do you think he'll be like?" She asked._

"_Sunny says he's alright." Said Sideswipe. "A little strict, but it's the second in command to watch out for."_

"_Why, Sides?" Asked Whitecurrent. "He catch your twin doing something stupid and throw him in the brig?"_

_Sides scowled. "It wasn't that bad. I wasn't there, after all. Prowl over reacted."_

"_What did he do to Prowl?" Asked Cliffjumper with a slag eating grin. _

_Sides couldn't help but smile a little. "He painted him pink." _

_Whitecurrent and Cliffjumper laughed, and even Mirage smiled a bit. "Hmm. If this is the Prowl I met last year, he would not have liked this."_

_Sideswipe nodded. "Yeah. He sure didn't."_

_When the new mechs started getting off the ship, Whitecurrent caught sight of the brilliant yellow armour that belonged to Sideswipes twin. The two mechs hugged, though Sunny was quick to break it off. Sideswipe brought his twin over, grinning as he saw Whitecurrent and her older brother Deuce standing at watching a tall red and blue mech emerge from the ship._

"_Optimus Prime!" Breathed Whitecurrent. "In our base."_

_Deuce grinned. "Hero worship, Green? Who'd have thought."_

_Whitecurrent's green optics narrowed, and she punched her black armoured brother in the shoulder plating. He grinned as he caught sight of his two old friends. _

"_Sunny! Sides! I see you found each other." _

"_Yup." Said Sideswipe. "I see you haven't been offlined yet, Deuce."  
"Nope. Been keepin' my nose clean." _

_Whitecurrent grinned. "Lets hit up the commons tonight. We're all here except Striker, and Optimus Prime is on our base to aid the war effort. What's not to celebrate?"_

_The mechs all smiled, and that was that._

* * *

_It had been a good night. There'd been goofing off, overcharging, jokes, pranks, stories, and songs sung. _

_It still brought a smile to Whitecurrent's face plates on patrol the next morning with Deuce, Cliff and Mirage. _

"_You serious about the stalemate?" Asked Deuce, nervously. _

"_Yeah, Deuce." Said Cliffjumper. "Not a sign of the 'Cons in weeks."_

"_Why does that make me nervous?" Deuce wondered aloud._

"_You and me both." Said Whitecurrent. "But there's no reason to worry too much."_

_They kept going, wary and getting tired. Finally, Deuce turned towards the base. "C'mon. We'll cross paths with the other Patrol soon. Lets go catch a little recharge and then go train for a bit."_

_Whitecurrent wasn't listening, though. She held up a servo for silence._

"_Do you hear that?"_

"_Hear what?" Asked Cliff._

_Then, he did hear it. Jet engines. Deuce's optics widened. "Cliffjumper. Get back to base. Warn Prime and the commander. We got 'Cons."_

"_What about you?" Asked the red bot. _

"_We'll keep them distracted." Said Whitecurrent. _

"_Oh no you won't." Said Deuce. "You're going back."_

_Whitecurrent glared. "Like Pit I am, Deuce."_

"_Green." Said Deuce in exasperation. _

_But Whitecurrent was already armed and ready, optics dangerous. "Don't argue. Cliff's faster than me, he should go." She looked at Cliff. "So. GO!"_

_Cliff was gone and transformed in seconds.  
Whitecurrent smiled a bit as she saw the jets approach. "Lets have some fun, Deuce."_

_Deuce growled. "If you get shot, I'll kill you, Green."_

"_Pft." Said the femme with a grin. As the first jet came within distance, the two Autobots began shooting. _

_The first jet transformed, and Whitecurrent grinned. "Screamer." She muttered._

"_Get them!" Shrilled the seeker, pointing at the two lone Autobots. The other seekers attacked, blasting the siblings. Whitecurrent ran forward, one servo a blaster, the other a knife. She stabbed one of the seeker drones and shot another. She heard her brother cursing fluently, and tossed one of the drones at him._

"_Go long, Deuce!" _

_The mech shot the unfortunate jet through the torso, and he looked up as Whitecurrent ran towards Starscream. _

"_Whitecurrent! NO!"_

_But the femme didn't listen. The seeker's back was turned, and it was perfect. Something to brag about with the twins, 'Raj and Cliff._

_But then Starscream turned and grabbed her in mid air. His claws circled around her neck, and the seeker grinned maliciously. "Well, well. Brave little femme, aren't you?"_

_Whitecurrent glared at him dangerously, grabbing his arm to stop the pain. Starscream smiled. "Shockwave could use strong sparks like you. Of course, we need you to die first."_

_Now the anger was replaced by fear. No. No. I can't die._

_The seekers gun whirred with power. Starscream and Whitecurrent's optics met. She bared her denta, the fangs speaking of Kaonian heritage. "Do what you will, Scum. It'll come back to get you."_

_The Decepticon shot her._

_...It burned, and burned, and then- nothing. Blackness. Emptiness. Whitecurrent was gone…._

_...Then, cloudy fluid…._

…_.A single glowing red optic…._

…_.Strange alien noises and smells….._

…"_Alicia"..._

Alicia awoke with a gasp, eyes wide.

She was in her room.

Everything was normal. Acacia was yelling at Cadence, Cadence was yelling back, Tasha was honking her horn.

Life was normal.

And so, so wrong.

* * *

What do you think? Leave a review and let me know. Thanks to Optimusprimegirl123 for reveiwing last chapter, and to everyone who favorited.

Luv ya'll!

-Nevra


	3. Chapter 3

** I apologize in advance if Sideswipe's a bit out of character. Enjoy!**

* * *

The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living.

-Marcus Tullius Cicero

* * *

Stirling watched the girl from his seat in the hot-wired car. She wasn't in school. He wondered absently if she was a drop out or had graduated early. It seemed their kind was either one or the other.

He smiled absently at her choice in work. A mechanic. Of course that would seem familiar, even if she didn't realise it. She waved to another man in overalls working on an old ford pickup, who yelled something to her. She gestured and pointed at a pile of old parts, listened, then went to grab one. Holding it up for her co-worker to see, she then brought it over.

"You ready to go in, Sides?"

-As I'll ever be.- Grumbled Sideswipe over the shortwave, with very little gusto. -Just be ready to do your part.-

"Sure thing, you prissy alien." Chuckled Stirling.

He watched as a tall blond man appeared around the corner, walking towards the auto shop with casual grace. Sideswipe's holoform was scowling, bleak and rigid, and Stirling felt the irrational desire to either facepalm or run over and backhand the Autobot. Either wouldn't be unusual.

"Dude. You're trying to recruit her and make her comfortable, not make her want to whack with a monkey wrench!"

-It would not the first time.- Said Sideswipe driley. Stirling grumbled.

"Just make sure she knows who you are, and get an idea whether she's Bot or Con."

Sideswipe snorted and approached the shop, wishing that the squishy could do this instead.

"Hey Ally! You wanna handle this guy."

Alicia poked her head out from under the Volkswagen beetle she was fixing and caught sight of the overly pristine shirt and jeans walking into the lot. She sighed, crawled out from under the car and yelled back at her friend. "Sure thing, Riker!" She grabbed a rag to get the oil off her hands and stood, frowning a bit as she saw how well kept the man was. Ashy blonde, perfect, angular face, white t-shirt, brown jacket and blue jeans.

He did not look like he belonged in this town.

"Hi!" Said Alicia. "Can I help you?"

The man looked at the dirt on her coveralls critically. "Yeah. You any good with sports cars?"

Alicia shrugged. "Can do it. Don't get too many in here, though." She frowned a bit. "If you don't mind me asking, but why come here?"

"New to town, and haven't found one I'm happy with."

"What kind of sports car are we talking?"

"Chevrolet Corvette Stingray." Said the man. Ally's eyes widened.

"Holy- Are you joking?"

"No."

Ally looked at him. "It legally yours?"

The smirk he gave me was small and amused. "Oh, yeah." He said with a grin. "You bet, sweet spark."

Her eyebrow went up, and she frowned. "You need an appointment right away?"

"That'd be nice." He said, though his smile seemed a bit forced.

"So,what's your name, hotshot?" Asked Alicia.

"Sides Jaeger." He said offhandedly. "What's yours, Green?"

Alicia froze a bit, the nickname sounding strangely, painfully familiar. She didn't dwell too long on it though.

"Alicia."

"You got a last name?"

"Not one I'm in the habit of giving guys I just met. Wait a minute while I go grab my boss. If you want to make an appointment, you'll have to talk to her."

Sides glowered, but waited as Alicia went into the back. She came out with an older woman with brown hair and a build Sideswipe had never seen in a live human female before. It was rather intimidating.

"Jaeger?" She asked brusquely.

"Yes ma'am." He said, this kind of person bringing out the soldier in him.

She smiled thinly. "Opal Sinclair." She said. "I hear you have a car in need of a check up."

"Yes ma'am."

The appointment was made, and as Sideswipe left, he saw Alicia working on the Beetle.

He walked over. "You seem very efficient." He said.

Alicia, who was underneath again, sighed. "What do you want, Mr. Jaeger."

"Call me Sides." He said. "All I want to do is get to know about the mechanic that'll be touching my bo- er, car."

The girl clanked around, rolled out from beneath and glared. "Is that all?"

Sideswipe shrugged. "Wouldn't you?"

"I already do. Me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've hours to put in."

The Cybertronian hated it when this happened. He was so used to femmes being warm and eager to please when it came to him. He was about to say more, when suddenly she came scrambling out from under the car, eyes wide, hands shaking. There was oil on her face, concentrated around her mouth, but she didn't seem to notice. She stared at him.

"Are you okay, Green?" Asked Sides, concern leaking into his voice.

She looked at him, and nodded weakly.

Sides helped her to the back, and the human femme pushed him away.

"I can look after myself, Sideswipe." She growled.

"What did you call me?" Sides asked, flabbergasted.

Alicia's eyes widened. She looked at him, then at the back room where Opal was. And she mumbled excuse me and ran.

* * *

"Her names Alicia?"

They were outside town, Sideswipe in full robot form and leaning over Stirling as the teenager recorded what they know.

"Yup." Said Sideswipe. "I couldn't figure which side she was on though. She knew me, though."

"Really?" Said Stirling, his curiosity aroused.

"So, now I have to take my body in to be checked over by a squishy." Sides shuddered.

"Yeesh, Sideswipe. You are such a princess."

"You haven't met my brother." The Bot told him.

"If he's worse than you, I've yet to believe it."

Sideswipe grumbled something under his breath. After a minute, Stirling prepared to close his book.

"How much do remember about your Cybertronian life, Stirling?"

Stirling was surprised, and unsure how to answer. "Well, bits and pieces. Whatever they did to me must have screwed up my memory."

"You remember your name."

"Yeah." Said Stirling.

"And that you were a Con."

Stirling's eyes narrowed, and he shoved his book into his shabby backpack. Sides winced a bit, remembering that Stirling didn't like remembering that part of his past life.

"Hey, Stirling. Sorry dude." Sides said tentatively. Primus knows he didn't need to piss off his only friend on this rock.

The green eyed boy paused and met the Autobots blue optics, his face still cold, but not closed off anymore.

"Hey. Can't help what I was before I was born. See you at the motel."

Sides sat there a minute, glanced up at the stars miserably, and then transformed to catch up with Stirling Turner.

* * *

**So, what do you think? Did I do alright with Sideswipe? Let me know, and I promise that I'll post again as soon as this stuff is dealt with.**

**Luv ya'll! **

**-Nevra**


	4. Chapter 4

**Alicia Burton is an average girl, or so she thinks. And a boy named Stirling seems to know the truth about her, accompanied by a silver corvette. **

* * *

_Crawling in my skin,_

_These wounds they will not heal._

_Fear is how I fall;_

_Confusing what is real._

_-Crawling, Linkin Park_

* * *

"I'm sorry for my rudeness the other day."

Alicia looked up and right into the face of Sides Jaeger, who was smiling slightly. Apologetically.

Alicia was working desk duty today, and had forgotten completely about Jaeger's appointment.

"I'm sorry?" Alicia said, skeptically. Sides grinned a bit.

"I'm apologizing here, Alicia. Remember?"

"Well, apology accepted, I guess." Said Alicia, a little surprised he was talking to her, and immediately sure there was another reason for his kindness. There always was.

"Well, you here for your car's check-up, or not?" Alicia said cooly. Sides nodded and they went outside, where Riker and the two other mechanics were staring open mouthed at the beautiful silver sports car. They never got anything this impressive here.

"Nice car." Said Alicia, and Sides nodded.

"I know. So you'll be working on him?"

"Yeah." Said Alicia. "I'm the only one who wanted the job."

"Really?"

"Yup." She walked over, giving the body a critical look before turning to her co-workers, brushing her hand over a crack full of a weird blue powder. "Well? Opal isn't paying you to gawk, Riker. Swallow those flies and go get Hanson's order sorted. Marv, go get Mr. Jaeger comfy, this won't take long. And Stephen." She glared at one man, practically a boy, and narrowed those cold eyes right at him. "Eyes off my ass."

Stephen grinned sheepishly, and scurried off like a starving rat.

Sides looked approvingly at Alicia, impressed by the fire in the young femme. She then looked at him critically, and Sides got the distinct feeling Alicia was about to shoo him off too. But she didn't. She grabbed her tools and went to work.

* * *

When Sideswipe's holoform walked into the motel room hours later, he actually paused to look at the unexpected carnage, and dropped the takeout boxes on the floor. Ripped drapes, sheets and pillows. Tipped over desk, long gouges in the wall.

And in the middle of it all was Stirling.

"Stirling!"

Sides was at his friend's side in seconds, staring at the blood and oil on the floor. And energon. Stirling's body was synthesizing energy.

"Stirling, are you okay?"

The teenager nodded, and shifted so that Sides could see the wiring, the clawed digits, the ripped organic flesh. Stirling looked up and his eyes were starting to turn red at the centers, the wiring shooting through his eyeball like angry scars, bursting blood vessels and turning the white red with blood and blue with energon. Energon corrosive to human biology.

Before Sideswipe could say anything, Stirling brushed him off. "It'll heal in about 24 hours. It always does."

"Stirling. Do you realise how stupid that sounds?"

"Yeah. But I have to believe it, or else I'm screwed." He laughed, and the Autobot saw the humans skin was so thin, the growing protoform showed. Wires and gears and things humans had no words for.

"You're starting to look like him." Sideswipe said.

"I am him." Growled Stirling. "What do you expect, for me to look like some dead Autobot friend, when we both know what brood I hatched from?"

Stirling crawled onto the ruined bed, his every move jerky. He exhaled heavily, and looked at Sideswipe. "So, you apologised?"

"Yeah." Said Sideswipe.

"And?"

"You sound like you expect more."

Stirling groaned and pointed to the TV set. "Well, if you have nothing interesting to tell me, turn the news on."

"-Strange reports about meteors falling from the sky in residential areas-"

Stirling shot up. "What did that say?"

Sideswipe didn't answer. Instead, the 'bot leaned in towards the TV, eyes widening.

The female reporter sounded vaguely amused, her voice indicating that she was above such foolishness as she was reporting. "One witness snapped a photo of the alien he claimed emerged from the meteor here downtown."

In the corner of the screen, a dark, blurry photo appeared. It was vaguely humanoid, with two glowing eyes set very, very high off the ground. But it was the irritable look in them that made Sides gasp.

"Ratchet!"

Stirling was there even faster than Sides expected. "The Autobot medic!"

They looked at each other. "You know what that means?" Stirling asked.

"They're here." Sides laughed. "Where Ratchet is, Prime isn't far behind! And where Ratchet is, Sunny-"

He cut himself off before he dared to say it. Stirling's eyes were alight.

"We're upping our game, Autobot." Said the one time human. "We need to get Alicia on our side, because you know what else Prime's presence means?"

Sides sobered instantly.

"That's right, princess. Megatron, the Lord freakin' Voldemort of the Decepticons is around again too."

Sideswipe closed his eyes, resting his forehead in his palm. "Slag."

Stirling smirked a bit. "You know, my friend. You're the king of understatement."

* * *

Alicia sat at the dinner table with Cadence, eating Kraft dinner and feeling miserable.

"How's school, Cade?"

The younger girl shrugged. Alicia sighed.

"You take your meds?"

"Yeah, _mom._" Said Cadence. "Speaking of whom, has a new boyfriend."

"Already." Said Alicia. "God, she never knows when to give up."

"No duh. At least this one looks like he can be arrested, instead of a simple, knuckle dragging man whore."

"Cade, eat."

"Why? So I can get fat like you?"

Alicia felt like leaving, but there was one simple rule in the Burton house. You don't leave Cadence alone for longer than it takes to grab a knife.

Alicia focused on the TV report instead of Cadence. What she saw nearly made her cry out. She did spill her KD, though. Cadence looked up sharply.

"Ally? What's wrong?"

But Alicia didn't hear her sister. Instead her eyes began to water, and she put her hands to her mouth.

_The medic held her hand comfortingly. "Your brother's alright. The shrapnel's been removed, and theres no permanent damage."_

"_My carrier? Wheres my carrier?"_

_His face softened as coolant leaked from the femmeling's optics. "I'm sorry, small one. She didn't make it."_

_The keen the sparkling released was spark wrenching. "No! No, you're lying! Mama can't be dead!"_

_The medic hugged her quickly. He was just a field medic. What was he supposed to do?_

"_It'll be alright. It'll be okay." he said, a bit gruffly. _

"_I won't let them hurt you…."_

"Ally!"

Cadence stared at her sister. "Ally! On my god, what's wrong? Do I need to call mom? What do I do?"

"I'm fine." said Alicia. "Just fine."

Cadence calmed down, and was back to normal all right. "Well, you'd better be glad I didn't have to call Mum. If she saw the crazy root job in your hair, she'd lose it."

"Root job?"

Cadence scoffed, and Ally raced to the bathroom mirror.

Sure enough, the roots of her hair were black. No, wait. Dark blue. But, she hadn't done anything.

"What's wrong with me?" She whispered. She hadn't had a flash since the first day she'd met Sides Jaeger. The silver mech and his yellow twin had been there, the yellow one sullen, the silver one flirting with her, and she remembered how adorable they had both been, but she'd never tell Sides and Sunny that….

Oh, my God.

What was wrong with her, Alicia wanted to scream. What. Was. Wrong.

Acacia and Cadence found her there only a few minutes later, in tears, rocking back and forth, staring at her hands.

"Ally." Acacia said softly.

The green eyed girl looked up at the two women, and her eyes were blank. "Who's Ally?" She asked, her voice oddly accented. "Who are you?"

"Ally, that's not funny." Said Acacia.

The girl shook her head, and then there was life in her face again. She suddenly began to sob, reaching a hand towards her mother and sister.

"Mummy." She whimpered like a small child. "Help me. It hurts."

Then all hell broke loose.

* * *

**Uh, oh! Here we go! We are getting to the good stuff. What do you think? **

**Thank you, Transfan1623 for pointing out to me the flaws in Sideswipes characterization. I hope this is a little better. :)**

**Leave a reveiw, please. **

**Luv ya'll!**

**-Nevra.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm back! And I am so sorry! This is such a late update! There's a lot going on, including the fact my darling little ****computer, ****Macky, needing a checkup, and me having to write on my phone. I can't guarantee that everything will be okay. Macky's pretty old. But I will attempt to find other ways to update, no worries. So, here you go, my lovelies! Enjoy!**

* * *

Oh I've gotta turn and run

From faces that you never see

Oh I've gotta save my blood

From all that you've broken

And pack up these pieces of me

-Broken Pieces, Apocalytica featuring Lacey

Alicia screamed, thrashing about on the tiles, blood pooling around her.

Acacia and Cadence stared as their family member spasmed, as her skin caught on things and sparks flew.

Alicia screamed. And screamed. And screamed like a dying animal.

"Oh my god!" Acacia ran for her cell phone, slamming the door, and dialling those three magic numbers. "Hello? Oh god, you have to help me! My daughter is on the bathroom floor, there's blood everywhere! And she's screaming. Oh god, oh god. No, don't tell me to calm down! Can you hear that?"

She held the receiver up to hear Cadence's sobbing, the ripping in the bathroom, and then Alicia's scream.

The operator was still cool, but there was an edge now. Acacia nearly joined Cadence in the corner. "An ambulance. Thank you."

As soon as she hung up, there was a deadly silence. Acacia remembered that silence from her mother's murder. She ran to the door and burst in, expecting the empty eyes, the stillness. She got both, but Alicia wasn't dead. She stood there in the middle of her blood, and her hands were sparking green energy. She looked up at Acacia, eyes wide.

The older woman stared slackjawed at Alicia's hands. Metal hands, with two glowing circles in her palms and skin hanging grotesquely off the joints. The tips, slightly clawed.

Acacia backed up. "What are you?!" She demanded shrilly. "And what have you done with my daughter!"

Alicia's green eyes were filling with tears. "Mom. Mummy it's me. I'm Alicia."

"No! You're not! You're _not_! Cadence, get back!" Acacia backed away. Of course, now she'd bother to be a mother.

Alicia stood there, tears rolling down her bruised cheek. "Mom! Please, don't leave me alone! I don't know what to do! Help me!" She saw the terror in her mother's face, and she fell to the floor, clutching her darkening hair with her strange hands. "Somebody help me!" She screamed. Sparks flew, green flashes that went into the walls. Lights flickered, the radio in the next room began to act strange, the cell phones began to ring, and the smoke detector, broken and lying on the hallway floor, began to beep loudly.

Sirens sounded down the street.

Suddenly, Alicia felt oddly calm. She'd been through worse than this, she knew. And since no one else would help, Alicia stood up, ran past her mother and sister, and outside into the cool air. Instincts told to stay here would bring harm. Tasha's would be the first place they looked, but Mum didn't know about Opal Sinclair's shop.  
The young creature, not quite human, not entirely robot, looked once more at the house. Already she was healing. By the time she reached Opal's, she'd be normal again. Safe.

Alicia turned, and left her family behind.

* * *

Opal was sitting in the residential part of her shop when the buzzer sounded.

The older woman looked up from her coffee and paper, wondering who the hell'd come calling at nine, going on ten PM. She went to look at the monitor, and saw the familiar blonde head and green eyes of Alicia Burton. Opal was at the door as fast as she could get there, throwing it open. "Ally? What are you doing here? Are you crazy, where's your coat, girl?"

Alicia shivered. "Can I come in, Opal?"

"Sure, Ally." Opal watched as the teenager zipped in, looking wildly at the open door. Opal frowned.

"Alicia, what's wrong?"

The young mechanic just stood there. She smiled a bit, bitterly. "I don't know boss. I didn't know where else to go. I just," She trailed off and held out her hand.

"Look."

Opal looked at the skin, expecting to see evidence of self harm or abuse, but instead saw a strange greyness, and. And glowing lines?

"Ally, what did you do?"

"I dunno." Said Ally, pulling away her hand. "I was at home, and it just started splitting and there was metal and then the bathroom was trashed and mom was screaming and I had to run, but she'd find me at Tasha's and, and- oh god, what's wrong with me!"

Opal didn't like hysterics, let alone handling them. She quickly sat Alicia down at the table, gave her a cup of coffee and waited till her young employee settled down. Alicia breathed deeply, and stared into the coffee mug. She remembered this one. Steph had given it to Opal last year as a joke. It said 'Worlds best boss', with a heart and a sharpie smiley face gleefully added by Riker. They'd expected Opal to take one look at the heart and use the cup for oil, but it looks like she'd kept it instead.

"So, are you ready to tell me, Ally. You don't have to if you don't want to."

Ally looked over at her boss. "You'll think I'm crazy."

Opal smiled a bit. "Try me."

Ally gulped, and looked at her hands again. "Opal. I don't think I'm human."

Okay. So maybe she'd been expecting extreme body modifications, or a boy friend mama didn't like. Hell, even drugs. But this...

Maybe it was still drugs.

"Ally. What else could you be?" Opal said with surprising patience.

Suddenly, Ally stood up, and turned towards the TV, and scrunched up her face. "I think it works like this." She said absently. Suddenly, green sparks crawled out from beneath her skin, and towards the TV. There was a humm, and suddenly the TV began to flip through channels, and the lights began to flicker again, and the coffee machine began to brew. There was a smell like burnt plastic in the air, and Ally's eyes were glowing.

"Alicia." Said Opal, with surprising calm. "I'd say you're done now."

Alicia stopped, and the room became eerily quiet. Opal looked down at Alicia's hands, and saw that there were rips in the skin. Not just on her hands, but all the way up her arm and two on her face. Alicia turned, and said. "Well, are you going to freak out, too?"

"Nope." Said Opal.

Alicia raised her eyebrows, such a purely Alicia gesture that Opal nearly smiled. "You aren't scared?"

"Hell yeah." Said Opal. "But I happen to know you're Alicia Burton, and you've worked here since you were fifteen. The same mechanic I've relied on hundreds of times. So, get comfy. If you're running from something, Ally, I know you've a damn good reason."

Ally smiled. "Thanks, boss."

Opal shrugged. "Hide-a-bed's over there."

* * *

Sideswipe walked into the shop the next morning, and saw Ally was the only one here. He walked over. "Hey, Green."

She looked over, and he stopped in his tracks. She had two black eyes in a mask like the organic called a raccoon. She looked terrible.

"Oh, god, Alicia." He said. "What happened?"

She sniffed. "What are you doing here? Your car's fixed."

He grinned a little sheepishly. "Just, wanted to thank you for doing such a great job on my car."

Ally didn't look up again. She grimaced. "Thank me?"

"Yeah." Said Sides. "I, uh, wondered if you'd like to join me for dinner this evening."

Alicia was gone in seconds.

"Alicia, wait!" Said Sides. "I'm sorry."

She turned, and her eyes were narrowed. "What for?"

"What, is this one of those 'It's not you it's me' things?"

Ally nodded. "Clever boy."

"Alicia." He said, putting charm in his voice. "Look, just give me a chance-"

"You know, Sides, for some inexplicable reason, I don't want anything to happen to you. So do us both a favour, and stay away."

Sides stood there for a second, then blurted out. "I thought that was my line, Green."

Her lips twitched in a smile, there then gone. Alicia went into the office area.

"Hey, Green. Since we're switching roles, I'll be the pretty, desperate person with a crush." When he got no answer, he sighed.

"Alright. I'll see you around, then."

He walked out onto the street where Stirling and his body waited. He hopped inside, then dissolved into the dash.

Stirling scowled. "So?"

"Nada, squishy. Turned me down cold."

"You? Sideswipe? Second only to Sunstreaker in his pickup abilities? This is a new low for you, dude."

"Shut up, flesh bag." Said Sides defensively. "She transformed last night. I think being around me sped the process up."

"It did with me." Said Stirling. "What do we do?"

"No more subtlety." Saids Sides. "It's your turn, Roguey."

Stirling snarled. "Are you joking?"

"Not in the least." Said Sideswipe, his tone playful but edged with anger. "You were a negotiator back in the day, with the Enforcers, no?"

"Yes." Sputtered Stirling. "But she won't trust me."

Stirling suddenly found his face in the dash, Sides holoform holding him there. "Listen here, buddy my mech. This is your Primus damned mission. Finish it so we can find the Prime and hopefully my brother."

"I hate you, you prissy good for nothing-" The rest of Stirlings tirade was cut off when Sides applied more pressure.

"My recommendation, Stirling, is to just plead uncle already." Sideswipe chuckled.

"Uncle, you slag sucker."

Sides grinned, and his holoform vanished again. "Thank you so very much!" He said dryly.

Stirling cursed again, and pouted all the way back to their new motel.

* * *

**Hmm. What do you think? Sideswipe's a bit aggressive. Could Sunny's absence be part of it? And Alicia's dealing with some tough stuff. How do you think her and Stirling's meeting will go?**

**Leave a review, and let me know what you think! Merry be-lated Christmas (Hanukkah, Kwanza, ect.)!**

**Love Ya'll! **

**Nevra. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello, my lovelies! Happy new year! I know it has been for me! Hope 2015 is awesome!**

* * *

_I keep going to the river to pray_  
_ 'Cause I need something that can wash all the pain_  
_ And at most I'm sleeping all these demons away_  
_ But your ghost, the ghost of you_  
_ It keeps me awake_

_-Ella Henderson_

* * *

_Whitecurrent crept along the hallway, her green optics narrowed, and a visor over them to disguise their glow. The femme grinned, and spoke over the comm._

"_Approaching the console, boss."_

"_Excellent, Whitecurrent." Said the commander cooly. "Now, intel states that Soundwave switches out with Roguestar in a few minutes. You'll be able to take him, Whitecurrent. Knock him out, and then do what you do best."_

_Whitecurrent grinned to herself. "Oh, boss, you must love me."_

_She could actually hear him processing that. _

_Whitecurrent paused outside the door, and placed her hand on the encryption pad. Sparks flew as she released the energy inside the circuitry. Whitecurrent had earned her name for this particular power of hers; she naturally produced more energy than normal, and could channel it through her hands into other things. Like Decepticon intelligence database terminals. _

_She stepped inside, slipping into the corner just as pedesteps sounded. Soundwave, the intimidating spy master, walked past her with Laserbeak on his shoulder. So confident in your own lair, aren't you, Soundy? Thought the femme darkly, fist clenching. The door reopened just as Soundwave stood in front of it, and a different mech stood there. Whitecurrent had not ever seen him before. A tall grounder with the perfect frontliner's frame and a masked face, wheels above his pedes that looked like they could come down for a speed boost, like Sunny and Sides', but he was definitely bigger than the twins, at least vertically. _

_His paintjob was black, but he had dark blue on his armour as well. Whitecurrent frowned, surprised that Roguestar was a grounder. It simplified her job somewhat, but it was still rather odd for the Decepticons to choose someone so obviously mundane for the intelligence roster._

"_Soundwave." Said Roguestar, dipping his helm respectfully. Soundwave looked down at the younger Con, and then just pushed past and out. As the door closed, Roguestar stood there for a second, inhaling deeply. He then said in a quiet near whisper, "Arrogant slag sucker."_

_Whitecurrent nearly chuckled, watching the Decepticon walk to the console. _

_Time for action. _

_Roguestar checked in for duty, then began his monitoring, sorting, and reporting at the console. The femme began to creep up behind him, shockers ready for attack. Just a few inches more, and he'd go down without a fight._

_Suddenly, Roguestar whirled, leveling a gun with Whitecurrent's helm. His optics were narrowed, dangerously glinting._

"_Well well. What's a pretty Autobot doing here, without a weapon?" He purred. _

"_Thought I'd drop by for some energon goodies and oil." Whitecurrent said sweetly. "You're so welcoming, Roguey."_

_The Decepticon smirked a bit. "Did Jazz send you, sweet spark?"_

_Whitecurrent smirked right back, optics hidden behind the visor. "Handsome, you have no idea who you're dealing with."_

_She lashed out, dodging out of firing range and aiming for his torso, hands sparking dangerously. She hit him with a grunt, and the energy went right into his nervous system. _

_Roguestar jolted and shuddered, screaming. The femme silenced him just in time. Roguestar put up a good fight, but then he stilled. _

"_Sorry, handsome." She said with a bit of amusement. "The femme wins this time."_

_She charged up, placed her hands on the console, and sent deadly jolts into the ridiculously expensive, difficult to replace piece of equipment. One console out of many, but one more intelligence base crippled. Whitecurrent turned away, sparks still circling around her hands. Suddenly, something grabbed her legs. Roguestar had his servo around her ankle, and a gun pointed at her._

"_Afraid I can't let you get away with that, femme." He said, voice still faint from the shock. Whitecurrent knew she couldn't just shake him off. "Let go." She said dangerously. _

_Roguestar didn't budge. Whitecurrent had chosen special opps because she was never caught. In the hope that she'd not have to deal with this. Stupid, cocky, idiot! She swore to herself. _

_She charged up her hands to a near lethal state, and looked down at the red optics, at the mech who was slowly regaining strength. _

"_I'm sorry." She told him, her voice cold. Then she began to spark up, and sent the charge right at Roguestar. The visored face of the dark femme was the last thing he saw before green engulfed him._

* * *

Stirling Turner watched the young woman interact with her co-workers, and remembered the energy field, her eyes glowing. He wondered who she was. Whether she'd been an Autobot, or Decepticon, before Project Spark. Before Shockwave.

Alicia's hair was changing. Her blonde hair now was darkening extremely, tied back as always, and Stirling could tell there was energy coursing through her that was higher than humans.

And then there were those eyes. Since her transformation, they hadn't started changing, which was unusual. He'd had green optics before the modifications, and knew the rarity in Cybertronians. The fact his eyes were going red showed the power of those modifications, even in this body.

And he only knew of one other green opticked Cybertronian. But it couldn't be her.

The girl smiled at the one Sides had called Riker, and began laughing at a joke or something. Stirling hadn't caught it.

So, how to do this, Stirling wondered. "Hi, Alicia isn't it? Yeah, I'm the slightly crazy sounding guy from the mall. Guess what? You're actually an alien pretender, who is hiding in the human community as a secret sleeper experiment, and I'm one too!"

Yeah. No.

Just then, the boss lady came out of the back and called Riker inside. Riker left, and Alicia got back to the motor they'd been working on. She was alone.

Stirling breathed deeply, and walked across the street.

"Hello? Miss?"

Alicia turned, a friendly smile on her face. That faded almost instantly. "You."

"Yeah, me." He stood there, gestured to the motor. "Don't stop on my account."

Alicia looked conflicted. "What do you want?"

"To talk to you."

"Why?"

"My name's Stirling Turner." He said. "And I'm here to talk to you about what we have in common."

Alicia snorted. "Worst pickup line ever. Scram, before I call my friends."

"I know what happened a few nights ago, Alicia."

The girl stiffened a bit, but she didn't speak to him.

"The metal under your skin wants out, doesn't it, Alicia."

Alicia stared at him. "What are you talking about? Metal? Are you insane?"  
"Probably. But not about this."

Alicia turned on him. "Well you know what? Get out! You don't know shit, Mr. Turner."

Stirlings skin on his right hand suddenly peeled back just then, like it was burning. Stirling was grateful it had decided to listen to him this time. Metal curves, glowing lines. Alicia gasped, drawing back.

"Oh God!" She gasped, and ran for the office. Stirling groaned.

"Alicia, listen! You can't handle this alone! Not now that you're changing."

Alicia was gone, though, and Stirling decided it was best to leave. He was not used to this. Maybe it was because Alicia's life was actually better balanced than most of their kind. But Alicia needed to get out of this life, before it got worse. Before the encryptions were activated.

* * *

"Ally, are you okay?"

Alicia smiled at Tasha, who had hurried to Opal's as soon as she'd heard about her friend's problem. Like, that the cop's were looking for her best friend.

Ally smiled. "I'm fine, Tash. Just scared."

Natasha and Alicia were in Opal's shop, sitting at the kitchen table while Opal cooked dinner. Tasha had brought coffee over for all of them, and Ally was cradling hers protectively.  
"So, what happened exactly, Ally?" Tasha asked softly. "Your mum seemed pretty freaked."

"I honestly don't know, Tash. I'm still figuring it out."

"Just tell her, Alicia." Said Opal quietly.

"Opal knows?" Tasha asked, her eyes wide.

"I told her when I ran away. I dunno why." Said Alicia. She looked up at the ceiling blankly. "God, everything's so screwed up."

"Ally, c'mon!" Said Tash. "Spill. Your mum was on Mom level Red."

"I wasn't doing drugs, Tasha!" Ally squeaked. "God, you know me better than that."

"I didn't say you were. So, what's up?"

Ally's hand began to twitch. She looked right at Tasha, and tried to get the words to form in her mouth.

"I'm not human, Natasha."

Tasha was quiet. She stared at Alicia, the only sound in the room the sound of dinner sizzling on the stove as that statement was processed. Then, Natasha snorted, and began to laugh.

"Ally, be serious. I've known you for years."

"That's just it, Tasha. I think I was human til a while back. Or at least pretty human. But now, things keep happening, that I shouldn't be able to do."

"Like what?" Asked Tasha.

"Like strip all of the skin off my arm and have another one of metal underneath. And short out all the appliances nearby. And create energy fields."

"But I thouht we decided that guy was crazy."

"Actually, he was here earlier today, as well. And he's like me, I think."

"Alicia. I know you're crazy. But you're good crazy. He's not."

"Good crazy doesn't drink motor oil."

Tasha's eyebrows went up, and she looked over at Opal, who nodded. "Caught her doing it about an hour before you got here."

"Damn, Ally." Said Tasha. "Maybe we should get you help."

"Aside from getting drugged up and institutionalized, what are they going to do?" Asked Alicia. "Truth is, Tash, I don't think any human help will be good help."

Opal put a plate of food in front of Tash, her face thoughtful. "Alicia's right. She's gonna seem crazy until something triggers her transformation. Any of her other complaints would be considered insanity."

"What triggered the last one?" Asked Tash, still sounding a bit skeptical?

"That news report about the meteors and aliens." Said Alicia. "I saw something afterwards. Like a memory."

Natasha cocked her head. "So, you're thinking whatever you are is triggered by the aliens that the loonies claim crawled out of the space rocks?"

"Actually, I think, and Opal agrees, that I may have actually been one, somehow."

* * *

**So, what do you think? Let me know with a review. Thank you to emzydatffan and Transfan1623 for reviewing last time, and everyone who favorited. I'm glad you guys like this story so much. Keep giving that feed back! It's muchly appreciated!**

**Luv ya'll, and Happy New Years! **

**-Nevra **


	7. Chapter 7

_No longer the lost_

_No longer the same_

_And I can see you starting to break_

_I'll keep you alive_

_If you show me the way_

_Forever - and ever_

_the scars will remain_

_I'm falling apart_

_Leave me here forever in the dark _

_-Give me a sign, Breaking Benjamin_

* * *

_Natasha cocked her head. "So, you're thinking whatever you are is triggered by the aliens that the loonies claim crawled out of the space rocks?"_

"_Actually, I think, and Opal agrees, that I may have actually been one, somehow." _

"What!" Natasha squealed. She looked over at their hostess. "Opal, you're encouraging this craziness?!"

"After what I've seen Ally do, what am I supposed to do?" Asked Opal. "And I did not say aliens, Ally. I said you weren't human."

"Fine." Said Alicia.

"So, now what?" Asked Natasha.

"I dunno? The boy, Stirling, he was like me. But if memory serves, there are some that I shouldn't trust. I don't know if he's one of them."

"Wait, memory?" Said Tasha.

"Yeah." Said Ally. "Don't get me started on that, please Tasha. My head hurts."

"Sorry, Alicia." Said Tasha, with a frown.

"You're both taking this well." Said Alicia, her tone a bit confused.

"Well." Said Natasha. "I think I'm still processing it."

Ally grinned. She couldn't help it. "Huh. Let's see how long this lasts."

"Yeah." Said Tasha quietly. She took a bite from her dinner, and looked up at Opal. "Good stuff, crazy person."

Opal snorted, and turned back to the stove. "Thanks, Collins."

Alicia looked at the food on her plate. It looked alright, but she just couldn't get into it. It wasn't right.

Ally shuddered at thought. She wanted the electrifying, lemony taste she vaguely remembered. Not hamburger. Not garlic.

And it scared her.

* * *

_Whitecurrent was relaxing, a well deserved break in a very rare neutral port. She stretched, fresh from an oil bath and feeling great.  
"Mmm. Simply glorious." She purred, watching the other species passing by. Her green optics caught some attention, especially from species known to trade with Cybertronians. She smiled, and walked towards the rendezvous point, feeling much better._

_As she passed by a storage room, Whitecurrent began to get that lousy feeling all of a sudden._

_It was well warranted, as she was pulled inside the storage room by strong servos. _

_Whitecurrent hissed dangerously, but her vocaliser was cut off._

"_Well, well. So those are the optics behind the visor. Very pretty, Whitecurrent."_

_The femme growled. Her servos sparked, lighting up the claustrophobic space. _

_"I'm very sorry, that won't work this time." Her captor chuckled. _

_The dark femme got away from his stifling servo, and smacked him. She was away from his grasp, but he still blocked the door. "So, I've sent you into spasms before."_

_"Now really. Am I that forgettable, Whitecurrent?" The mech asked. "Of course, you do have those twins trailing behind you like lovesick younglings."_

_"Who the hell are you?" Said Whitecurrent. "Let me by! I've no idea what you're talking about."_

_"Please, my dear. That line isn't becoming of our profession."_

_Whitecurrent lit up her hand suddenly. "I really don't have time for this. Get outta my way or I'll-" She looked up at his illuminated faceplates, voice Trailing off. "Roguestar."_

_"I recommend you make time, Whitecurrent." He said coolly. _

_The femme had recovered though. "Not on your life! Get lost, 'Con!"_

_Suddenly she was against the wall, Roguestar's claws glowing slightly, his face so close she could have kissed him. _

_"You're the first in a long time to knock me on my aft, femme!"_

_"Obviously it was over due, Roguey." Said Whitecurrent. She glared at him. "Now let me go before my friends come looking for me."_

_The Decepticon mech stared at her. Then he let go of her with a sly grin. _

_She cautiously went to the door, hands sparking. Then, Roguestar said calmly. "I'll be keeping an optic on you, Whitecurrent."_

_The femme couldn't resist. "Just pray Soundwave doesn't learn of this, Roguey. For your sake."_

_The mech chuckled. "Believe me, Whitecurrent. He never will."_

* * *

Alicia awoke with a start, the adjustment from dream to reality disorienting. She looked about, realising she was in Opal's little dwelling in the back of the shop. She shivered a bit, and stood up to go look out the window.

How long til they traced her here? Alicia wasn't an idiot. She knew that in this age of technology, they'd find out somehow that she'd worked here. They'd come here looking for a lead, and find her if she wasn't careful. And Opal might get in trouble for harbouring a fugitive.

"But I haven't done anything wrong." Ally whispered softly.

Yes you have. If you're not human, that means Acacia can't be your mother. And Acacia had a baby. But you aren't it. So that means, you've taken the real Alicia Burton's place. You've stolen her life.

Alicia felt a chill. She couldn't be Alicia Burton. So, who was she then? Was she the Whitecurrent whoe's eyes she'd see out of in her dreams?

But, if that was true, was she one of them? The metal creatures? That made sense. The metal beneath her arm at least made sense now.

But, she still had human skin, human blood, and human needs. They looked a bit human in shape, but there the resemblance ended.

Maybe, maybe that male, Roguestar, had something to do with it. Oddly, though, when she attempted to dig further into these new ghost memories, and thought about his face, and his name, there was a kind of sadness related to it, one she had no interest in bringing.

What about those twins she kept seeing?

Alicia was about to delve into those thoughts, when something caught her attention.

A silver corvette, parked outside the shop's lot on the street.

Jeager. Or Turner, if he still had his. What were the chances of two guys with silver corvette's taking an interest in her?

Or coming to this crummy town?

Alicia began to get that goddamn chill again. Too many coincidences for them to be coincidences. All these events were connected. Her dreams, the meteors, her transformations, Jeager and Turner, the metal titans.

She found herself going to the office, and taking some blank printer paper and a pencil. She began to draw. Ally had never been a steller artist, but it helped her think, helped get her thoughts down. A way to purge her mind and get everything down in a 2-D, easy to read format.

Her eyes began to droop. She fell asleep on top of her drawing, head on Opal's desk. And thankfully, there were no dreams.

* * *

Stirling Turner watched the shop wearlily. Being near her in the shop, he had sensed something about her, and began to realise Sideswipe probably felt it too. It didn't make the youth comfortable, and neither companion wanted to talk about it.

Though Stirling had begun to expect Sideswipe's silence simply meant he was asleep.

Stirling looked down at his hand, twiddling his fingers to see the metal flex beneath his thinning flesh. It felt strange, but right. He was progressing towards his real body, not this fleshy facade.

He looked up, and saw a pale face in the window of the dwelling part of the shop. Alicia.

Stirling watched her, knew she'd spotted them, but oddly couldn't care. Here was one like him; trapped in an inferior body, confused, and alone. But, the loneliness didn't have to be. He could help her if only Alicia could see that was his intention.

Absently, he reached for the old notebook, before realising he'd even reached towards it.

The faded entries screamed at , failure. If she could see you now, she'd be laughing!

No she wouldn't. Because she wasn't like that. She understood.

Keep telling yourself that, Roguey. Maybe you'll start believing it someday.

* * *

**So, what do you think? Let me know with a review! Thanks oodles to _Kristen Verne _and _Savvy Orion childofcommander _for reviewing last chapter, and to the new favs and followers! I love you all, and am so glad you like my story!  
**

**-Nevra**


	8. Chapter 8

**Alright. If the song below isn't an indicator, I warn you now. There is attempted suicide in this chapter. Read at your own discretion. Otherwise, enjoy our latest and important character. **

* * *

My legs are dangling off the edge,

The bottom of the bottle is my only friend,

I think I'll slit my wrists again and I'm gone, gone, gone, gone,

My legs are dangling off the edge,

A stomach full of pills didn't work again,

I'll put a bullet in my head and I'm gone, gone, gone, gone.

-Bullet, Hollywood Undead

* * *

"Mom! Shut up! Where the hell is Alicia!"

"Damned if I know where that creature is! Now don't you talk to me like that, Elise!"

Elise Burton stood on the porch, her bag beside her, her eyes narrowed. Acacia stood in the door, yelling at her oldest daughter.

"My god, Mom!" Elise said. "You can't be serious! Ally's your daughter! The way you're acting, I'm thinking I should call the cops!"

"Go ahead! Call them!" Said the elder Burton. "Call them, Elise! But as long as you're going to talk back to me, you can go right back to where ever it is you've been the past nine months!"

"Do I look sick and homeless, Mom! I didn't come back here cause I need a place to crash. I came because I wanted to see my family, and last I checked, Ally was part of that equation."

Acacia glared, and her hand went behind the door. "If you'd seen what I'd seen, Elise, then you'd be in the same boat."

The door slammed, and Elise stood there, her backpack next to her, and a thunderous expression on her face.

"And a good day to you too." Said Elise to the white painted door.

She picked up the backpack and began the walk down the path and sidewalk. Her chestnut hair whipped about in it's braid as she snapped to look up the second floor window where Alicia's room was.

Seriously, how could you raise a child for years and then treat it like a monster? Elise again felt combined guilt and relief for leaving Cade, Ricky and Ally with that woman.

"Elise?"

The nineteen year old looked over, and saw that corvette and the boy leaning out of it.

"Sides?"

The ashy blonde holoform grinned. "Well, damn. What are you doing here?"

"This is my 'hood. I should be asking you that, robo-boy."

The passenger door opened, and another boy emerged, frowning. "Who's this, Sides?" He asked, his weird eyes wary.

"Oh, where are my manners. Stirling, this is Elise Burton. She's a friend. Elise, this is Stirling Turner."  
"I never thought I'd see you with another fleshbag." Said the human girl, crossing her arms.

"She knows?" Stirling demanded.

Sideswipe grinned sheepishly. "Um,-"

"He saved my life, Mr. Turner." Said Elise, shortly. "Now, seriously, Sides. Why are you here?"

Sides and Stirling looked at each other. "Well." Said the Cybertronian. "We're, looking for a girl."

"What girl?" Asked Elise. Her eyes brightened in realisation. "Alicia."

"Wait, how do you know?" Asked punched his shoulder.

Elise suddenly grabbed the holoforms arm. "Sideswipe, why are you looking for my sister?"  
"Your sister?!" Said Stirling and Sideswipe.

"Yes! My sister!" Said Elise. "I thought you robots were smart. Her last name's Burton. You're in my neighbourhood. Dot to dot. You do those as a child, Turner?"

"Hem. I can't say I have." Said Stirling coldly. He then went inside the car, almost pouting.

"What's his deal?" Elise asked.

"Oh, don't get me started, please Elise." He muttered.

"Alright, so, then do you know what happened to my sister?"

Stirling popped his head out. "Hey, Sides. She's a civilian. Stop fraternizing!"

"Shut up, Roguey!" Snapped Sides. "It's only fair she knows. Alicia's her sister."

"Frag you, you sappy silver twit! I'm getting a bad feeling about this!"

Elise glared at him, but kept speaking to Sides.

"Seriously. Sides, what if this was your brother? You aren't going to listen to that uptight little jerk, are you?"

"Nope." Said Sides, quietly. "Cause I know you, Elise, and Stirling doesn't. Just, don't move her, please. She's not safe if she leaves that place, got it?"

"I understand, robo-boy." Said the woman. "Even if I don't understand why my family is even more psycho than usual, why my sister is missing, and why you and some wacko with a stick up his ass know where she is and have my hood under surveillance."

"And I'll tell you everything, later." Said Sideswipe. "We'll catch up, sans Stirling, tonight. Deal?"

Elise Burton smiled. "Deal. Thank you, Sideswipe." She said.

"She's at Opal's shop."

* * *

_The swirling water was probably cold, eleven feet below her swinging legs. The air smelled like booze and cold and car exhaust. _

_Elise had blown her last bit of cash on the beer at her side and the cigarette pack in her pocket. It was so cold out here. The bridge was abandoned this late at night, not a car for miles. _

_She watched the banks below, and the water, and the ice floes bobbing and getting pulled under the current. _

_She downed the last little bit of beer in the pack, then tossed the can into the current. Her head was swirling like the water. She was already drowning. _

_Suddenly, a car speeds onto the bank, a silver blur in the darkness. Elise in her drunkenness found it fascinating, watched it, distracted momentarily from her dark thoughts. The car idled on the bank for a moment, before suddenly, something happened that Elise wasn't certain was influenced by the beer or not. _

_It turned into a freaking bipedal robot. _

_The silver robot limped to the edge of the water, sat down, and began to pick something from its leg. It's hurt, her bleary mind realised. _

_She watched, taking out a cigarette, lighting it. She smoked and watched the robot. It didn't seem to notice her._

_Of course not, it isn't there. Quite wasting time. _

_But she just didn't seem to have it in her right then. She looked to her cigarettes again, then where the robot had been. _

_It was gone._

_It took her a bit to get worked up again. Finished her cigarette. She was going to do it. She was going to jump._

_She was soaring, falling._

_And suddenly she wasn't _

_She was in a hand. A large, silver hand lifting her up. _

_Elise looked up. A face looked down at her. "What the pit were you doing that for?"_

"_I dunno." Slurred Elise. "I'm useless, homeless, broke. That's a start. Why are you silver?"_

_The face looked taken aback. "You're overcharged."_

"_No, I'm drunk." Elise suddenly burst into tears. "I think I'm dead. Am I dead?"_

"_Um, no?" He said uncertainly._

_Elise looked up at him. "Why didn't you let me die?" She asked. "I'm better off dead!"_

"_No. No you're not." He set her on the ground, insuring to block the bridge edge. "Hey, stop leaking."  
"I am. I am so better off dead! Oh god." She curled up, and just sobbed. They just sat there like that, til her tears just stopped. She looked up. The robot was still there, looking concerned. _

"_You're still here?" She sniffled. _

"_Why wouldn't I be?" _

"_Cause you're a hallucination." Said the girl._

_The robot chuckled. "No, I'm not. My name's Sideswipe."_

"_That's a funny name." She said. _

"_Oh, is that a fact? What's your name?"_

"_Elise."_

"_You weren't really going to kill yourself, were you, Elise?"_

_The human sniffled. "I dunno what else to do." She whispered. _

"_Well, going and killing yourself is hardly a good way to fix it." _

"_Oh yeah? How would you know? You're a giant, silver dream robot."_

"_Oh, trust me. I know." Said the robot, softly. _

_Elise looked up at the silver face. She frowned, and began to feel dizzy again. "I don't feel so hot." She groaned. "Damn, I'm boozed up."  
And she blacked out. _

_Sideswipe wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't leave her out here. There were so many dangers out here for an organic, including Barricade, who was still around here somewhere, and herself and her suicidal thoughts._

_First off, she needs to sleep it off. Then we'll go from there, I suppose._

"_Well, Elise. Looks like I'm stuck with you for a bit." He sighed. "Curse my good nature." _

* * *

**So, what do think? Let me know! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited and followed. I love you all! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm back. Sorry for the wait. Had a bit of trouble with this chapter. It kept doing things that were not my idea, at least not in my conscious brain. Anyways, I hope you like it! **

* * *

_Remember all the sadness and frustration _

_and let it go._

_-Linkin Park, Iridescent_

* * *

Elise walked into the shop, and spotted her sister examining some new parts with Riker and Marv. Immediately noticeable was the fact Alicia's blonde hair was nearly entirely blue-black. Only the tips were blonde now.

"Ally!"

The younger girl turned, startled and looking ready to flee from whomever had called.

When she saw it was Elise, Ally still looked unsure of whether to run or greet her sister. Elise smiled slightly. "Nice hair, Ally."

Alicia looked quickly at her coworkers, then walked to her sister. "Hey, Lis. What are you doing here?"

"I came to see my family, and well, they were crazier than usual." Elise shrugged, tossing her backpack into a corner. "So, what happened?"

Ally seemed shy all of a sudden, and her hand went down to scratch her wrist. Elise grabbed the offending hand, a reflex leftover from when they were younger, when Alicia used to pick at healing wounds. Elise glanced down to look at the wound, only to see not a wound but something under the skin.

"What the hell is that?" Elise asked. Her blue eyes shot up to look at her sister, immediately concerned. Had Ally gone and done some body modifications? That was so not like the Alicia she knew.

Alicia jerked her hand away. "Look. Elise. I'm glad to see you, but-"

"I'm not here for Mom, Ally. I'm here because I was worried about you."

Alicia smiled a little. "I didn't think you cared, Elise." She said softly.

"I always have, Ally." Elise chuckled. "It was just a matter of being sober. Where you staying?"

"Here, with Opal."  
Smart girl. Mom would have looked at Tasha's place first, not knowing about the shop. "Well, you could stay tonight with me at my hotel." Elise reached into her pocket, and handed Alicia a piece of paper with a number on it. "This is my new phone number. Text me, I'll come get you. I might be a little late though."

"Why?" Asked the younger girl.

"I got a kind of date tonight, with an old friend." Said Elise. "I may turn up with him. I dunno."  
Alicia shrugged. "I don't care, really, Lis."

Elise chuckled. "Sure you don't, Ally."

Alicia looked at her sister, eyes curious. "I don't think I've seen you this sober in years."

Elise's eyes softened. "I know, kiddo."

That was when Opal appeared. "Burton! C'Mon kid. We have stuff to do." She paused, assessing the new girl with a criticism usually reserved for Steph's crowd of ruffians. "You're the oldest Burton girl, Elise. I thought you were in Detroit."

"I'm taking Ally off your hands, ma'am. I trust this whole thing hasn't been a bother?"

Elise watched Ally and Opal exchange a look, one she knew from when she'd been living with Sideswipe. Or in him, as weird as that sounds. Opal knew something, but her tone was naturally loud as she said. "No bother at all."

Elise carefully smiled, not quite the way she had when conning horny males in her various travels, more sincere and less sexy. "Great. Then I'll be coming at nine to get her."

Opal nodded. "Of course. Pleasure seeing you."

Elise quickly left, waving to her sister before heading to where Sideswipe and Stirling were parked a ways away. She hopped into the drivers seat.

"Alright. What the fucking hell is up with Ally, guys."

Stirling stared at her. "What do you mean?"

Elise snorted disdainfully. "What do you take me for, Turner? A stupid slut? My sister is wanted by police, you two turkeys are watching her and I just saw what looks like freaking protoform under her skin." Stirling looked ready butt in, only to be silenced by Elise. "If you even dare to say I have no clue what I'm talking about, I will knife you in the solar plexus! I've ran around with a transformer since I was sixteen. I know shit. So what have you to say, Sideswipe!?"

"Don't tell her." Stirling mumbled.

Elise whirled on him. "Excuse me? Who asked you, meat bag!?"

Stirling's eyebrows shot up. "Meat bag?" He echoed.

"Yes. Meat bag." Hissed Elise. "Unless you've something else going for you."

"Elise." Sideswipe said quietly. "Relax."

The woman's posture slowly settled, though the glare never faltered. After a moment, she sighed. "I'm sorry, Sideswipe. I shouldn't have snapped."

"It's fine." Sideswipe seemed quieter than usual. Elise wished Stirling wasn't here. That she could ask Sideswipe what was wrong.

"We'll drive you to the hotel." The corvette said.

"Sure. Thanks." Elise said. The sidelong glance she gave Stirling was the last attention she gave them before Sides pulled onto the street.

* * *

"Are you okay, Ally?"

Alicia looked up at Opal,, hands pausing above the engine parts she was sorting. Elise's return had startled her into thought. She'd been here too long. Instinct told her to leave, but then god only knew when she'd see Riker, Marv, Steph, Opal and Tasha again. A distinct sense of melancholy, loss and fear had settled Into Alicia's soul.

She smiled a bit. "I'm fine, boss."

"Sure you are." Said Opal. But she wasn't one to push in this case. She was just going to watch.

* * *

The place Elise was staying was pretty nice. Sides thought the decor was trying a little too hard, but the food smelt pretty good. At least for organic food.

Across from him, Elise sat with a slight grin.

"What?" He asked softly.

"Just thinking how good it is to see you." said Elise. "Despite the fact you're stalking my kid sister."

"Yeah." Said Sides, a bit sheepishly. "I did say I'd get to that, didn't I?"

"Sure did, Autobot. Sans Stirling, which I like." Elise chuckled.

"Aw, give him a break, Lis." Said Sides.

"He's a little punk, Sides. But thats not the point. What are you up to?"

The Autobot sighed. "It's a long story. You remember me telling you about how, during the war, the Decepticons were setting up ways to harvest other worlds?"

"Yeah. And so you had special agents wrecking Decepticon labs, and communication hubs to prevent them from doing it."  
"What I didn't tell you," Said Sides "Is that one of the scientists, a mech named Shockwave, came up with this plan to harvest sparks from fallen Cybertronians. He did some pretty awful experiments, trying to find a way to keep sparks alive for transfer, an art that had been lost. One of my old friends saw some of these experiments. She, had nightmares about them for weeks. And they used their own people as guinea pigs, as well as captured Autobots. I'd heard, though, that whatever they were doing failed. Then, I came to Earth, when Cybertron fell. I thought it wouldn't be much of a job, you know. Until one night, I'm sitting on a street and there's these two kids walking down the street. At first, I notice, one of them is limping. Then I notice something else. The one kid's arm is metal, and bloody."

"What?!"

"My thoughts exactly. So I make a holoform, and step out. The kids look at me, and the one with the metal hand hides it quickly. I just walk up and ask them if they need any help. One of them shakes his head. But I can sense it now that I'm close. These kids are Cybertronian, somehow. I don't know what to make of this. Could be a Decepticon trap. But then, one of the kids says, 'Look, mister. You ain't no Autobot, so scram.'

"Now, I look at this kid hard, and I see what you saw earlier. Greyness under the skin. That's one of the symptoms. The protocols put there by the Con's are activating. They look like they're about to leave, but I don't let them, for some reason. I said, "I might be a 'Bot, and you might be a Con, for all I know. But you're hurt, and I can help."

"You did not say it like that." Laughed Elise. Sides shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a registered badass. Anyways, these two kids just kind of look at me, and then the one with the limp says 'You're an Autobot? Prove it.'"

"You transformed."

"I did."

"Idiot."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But they believed me. It turns out they were part of that failed project. Their human names were Mark Browning and Stirling Turner. One of them was a former Decepticon intelligence officer named Roguestar. The other was an old friend of mine named Deuce, who had disappeared trying to save another friend of ours. Or, to be more exact, what was left of her."

"Oh, geez, Sides. I'm sorry."

"It isn't your fault, Elise. I help them out, and we stick around for a bit and find out more about the Pretender protocols. But then, in Louisiana, we meet up with a Con named Barricade, and we get separated. I find out later Deuce is killed before Barricade goes after me, and that's where you come in."

Elise was silent for a minute. Then she said softly, "And my sister is one of these things?"

"Yeah." Said Sides. "I don't know how Shockwave did it, but somehow that genocidal son of a glitch switched out a bunch of human sparklings with the ultimate inside strike force. These pretenders are everywhere, and I've tried to gather them all up. Stirling's been helping me since we met up again a few years ago. We've been failing though."

Elise heard that tone in Sideswipe's voice. It was the same one he used when talking about his brother, who he hadn't seen in forever, and the same he'd used when he'd said 'friend', earlier.

It hurt her to hear her friend in pain.

"Well, this time, it's going to be different, Sides."

"Oh? How so, 'Lis?"

The woman grinned. "You'll have me helping."

* * *

**So, there we go. Elise and Sides. This was pretty much the main image that inspired me to write this story. The other was a pic of Alicia in my head. Anyways, I hoped you liked! Thank you Kirsten Verne and my lovely Guest for their reviews, and Jazzilyn Hall, CobaltBatWings, and anyone else following or favoriting this story. Thanks so much you guys!**

**Luv ya'll!**

**Nevra**


	10. Chapter 10

_I wonder how many people I've looked at all my life_

_and never seen._

_-John Steinbeck _

_The sparkling sat beside the hospital bed, green optics never leaving the face of the youngling nestled in there. _

_Ratchet walked up to the bed, optics softening as he saw the femmeling. "Whitecurrent." he said softly._

_She looked up. "Oh. Hello, Ratchet. I didn't know you were on duty."_

"_You should be sleeping, kid." Said the medic. "Nothing's going to happen to Deuce if you do."_

_She shook her helm. "I was sleeping when Papa and Mum died. They had things in their bodies like Deuce did. Even when I pulled the one out of Mum's neck, she still died."_

_Ratchet sighed. In the weeks since the bombing, the hospital had cleared out, either through the front door (Rarely), or the far more common back halls. Whitecurrent and Deuce hadn't been claimed by anyone during that time, and Ratchet knew that the inevitable would soon happen. These younglings would begin their soldier training. Or they would get out on their own, and die, or be kidnapped by Decepticons. _

_The medic looked at Whitecurrent, who returned his gaze steadily. She had such old, tired looking optics. _

_He would have convinced the sparkling to settle into the bed next to Deuce's, but before he could someone commed him to a critical case down the hall. Ratchet looked at her, then ran, knowing his priorities. He'd send a nurse down to the sparkling. _

_The evening wore on. Ratchet finished his shift, which had been far longer than he'd done before the war, because of the shortage of medics, doctors, and nurses. It wasn't easy, especially when you had two children to look after. _

_The twins were not Ratchet's. Or, they were, but he wasn't their parent spark. His brother had had twins with someone he'd been sparked with, but who had abused the smaller mech and his two children. When it had finally gone too far, Sunny and Sides had been adopted by Ratchet. They knew their carrier was was dead. At least, Sunstreaker acknowledged he did. And both knew for sure their father had been in a prison up until he was freed by Decepticons. _

_If Ratchet had known that the war would drag on this long, that he'd have to leave these two alone with his neighbour so often… sigh. What was he supposed to do?_

_Ratchet walked into his building, grateful once again that his part of Iacon was relatively untouched so far by the war. Upstairs he went to his room, his steps sagging. The twins would be up by now. _

_As he entered the room, he was promptly attacked by a small red mech. "Hey, Hatchet! Guess what Sunny did!"_

_A second sparkling, the titular Sunny, was there as well, frowning beside the neighbor who was kind enough to watch the twin hellions. "I didn't do a thing." Said Sunstreaker. _

"_Did too!" said Sideswipe with a grimace. He then scampered off, Sunny looking once at Ratchet before joining his twin somewhere else in the apartment. _

_Ratchet sighed, and smiled tiredly at Rush. "I apologize. I hadn't expected so many to leave. They weren't too much trouble?"_

"_About as much as usual." Said Rush. The femme seemed bothered, her body language tense. Ratchet found out why in a minute later._

"_Look, Ratchet." She said. "I'm not going to be able to look after the twins anymore. It's nothing against you, or the twins." She added quickly. "It's Redstar. She wants to get out while we can, you know? Head to a colony offworld."_

_Ratchet nodded. His faceplates were neutral, but his spark was sinking. _

"_I'm really sorry." Rush murmered._

"_Nothing to apologise about. There's no reason for you two to stay her in Iocon. It won't be safe forever."_

"_Well, I was thinking. I know you love Sides and Sunny, Ratch. I was thinking, we could take them with us. I'm just offering. Red agrees, so no worries there." Her optics suddenly widened. "I hope that wasn't out of line! I'm sorry!"  
Ratchet shrugged. "Thank you, Rush, but I promised I'd look after them."_

"_I understand." Said Rush, softly. _

_She left, quietly. The only sounds were the twins arguing, and the hum of the energon dispenser. Ratchet walked wearily towards the sparkling bedroom. As he did so, a sudden idea occured to him. _

"_Why do we have to stay in the office?" Whined Sideswipe. _

_Ratchet sighed. "Because then I know you won't run into someplace where you'll be a nuisence. Understand, Sideswipe. You will regret it if either of you leave. This. Office."_

"_But that's boring!" _

_Sunstreaker sighed, drawing busily in his corner. "Sides, come here and I'll draw you something."_

_Sides groaned, but went to sit by his brother. Ratchet then left, closing the door. _

_It took Sunstreaker and Sideswipe only a few minutes to stop looking at the paper, and look at each other. They both smirked, and were gone in seconds, racing out into the hall. They avoided going they way they heard the most adult voices, and ran down the corridor. _

"_What do you think we should do?" Sides asked over the twin bond. _

_Sunny thought a minute. "I dunno. We need to find someplace first."_

_They heard the adults at the same time, and in a slightly panicked moment ducked into another room. The door closed, and they stood there for a moment. _

_The noticed the apparently lone occupant at the same time. A bed, with machines all around, and a steady beeping, the only bed with a body in it for rows. The two looked at each other, then scurried up to peer at the older kid lying there._

"_Is he like dad?" Sides asked softly._

"_No." Said Sunstreaker. "He's not. Otherwise they wouldn't have him on the machines."_

"_Oh. So, why isn't he moving?" _

"_I dunno. He looks banged up, though."_

_Suddenly, a new voice joined them. "What are you doing in here?"_

_The two little mechs looked across the bed at this newcomer. She wasn't much older than them, with dark paint and big green optics. Sunny was scowling, but Sides was instantly interested. _

"_We're exploring. Why are you in here?"_

"_Because I don't have anyone else to stay with." Said the green opticked femmeling._

"_Why not?" Asked Sideswipe._

"_Sides. Isn't it obvious? Someone took them, like dad." Said Sunny. _

_Sides looked horrified. "Oh." He looked at the sad little femme. "I'm sorry." _

"_It's not your fault." Said the femme. "Why are you two here? Do you have a sick family member, too?"_

"_No. Our guardian is a medic here. His name's Ratchet." Said Sides._

"_I like Ratchet." said the femme. "I didn't know he had sparklings. What's your names?"_

"_I'm Sideswipe! And this is Sunstreaker. We're twins!"_

_She smiled a little. "I've never met twins before. I'm Whitecurrent. I'm an anomaly."_

"_What's an anomaly?" Asked Sidswipe. _

_She thought for a second, then said. "I think it means I can do things other mechs can't. The doctor called it an anomaly, but Mum called it a gift."_

"_What kind of gift?" Asked Sides. He liked gifts._

_She frowned. "I'm not supposed to just show it. And it might hurt Deuce." She indicated the mech lying on the bed. "It hurt the others last time" _

"_What happened? Did he get beat up?"_

_Whitecurrent frowned. "No. A bomb was dropped on our home."_

_Sides and Sunny were silent. _

_That's when Ratchet appeared. "You two!"_

_Sides yelped. "It's the Hatchet! Run!" They scampered out, Sides waving to Whitecurrent as he left. She waved back, half sparked but it was there._

"_Did they bother you?" Ratchet asked, his voice softer. Whitecurrent shook her helm. _

_Ratchet marched into the office a few minutes later. The twins were in his chair, Sunny doing something on a piece of paper. _

"_What did I tell you two?" Asked Ratchet._

_They looked up at Ratchet. "Well." Said Sides. "You said not to wander around or we'll regret it. So you regret it, Sunny?"_

_The yellow twin shook his head. He held out the picture to Ratchet, who took it. _

"_For Whitecurrent." He said, a bit awkwardly. Ratchet looked at the little picture. It was a childs drawing of Ratchet, Sunny and Sides, and two others, who Ratchet realised to be Whitecurrent with her darker colours and green optics, and her brother Deuce._

"_So she won't feel so sad." Said Sides. _

_Sunny glared, but said nothing. _

_Ratchet nodded. "Alright. I can." He turned to leave, but looked over his shoulder._

"_You're still in trouble." He said ominously._

"_We know." They said together. But it was worth it. _

The picture on the desk was only half finished. Alicia has started drawing the things in her head, the faces, the cities.

She wished she had colour, other than blue pen and the single highlighter Opal had on her desk. With a sigh, Alicia finished one of their eyes. No, optics. She remembered they were called optics. It was one of the most prominent faces in her memory, a mech with helm fins and a smug smirk. She almost considered using the yellow highlighter to colour him in for a while. At least until she had better supplies. Ally quickly decided otherwise, though. It just seemed wrong.

Opal walked in, having just finished locking up. She looked down at picture, raised an eyebrow, then walked to the counter for her nine o'clock coffee. "So, is that you?" She asked jokingly.

Ally chuckled. "No. That's someone I knew, back wherever I was. I can't remember names well yet."

"Hm. Are you going to call your sister?"

Alicia paused. The piece of paper was still in her pocket, waiting. "Yes. I can't stay any longer, Opal. Call me paranoid, but I know those cops are going to find out about this place soon."

"Do they know about Elise?"

Ally shook her head. "Mum still thinks she's using and drifting around. They'll probably figure it out, but I'm safer with someone who doesn't have roots. It's better for you, too, boss, and the boys."

"You're too young to be worrying about other peoples safety." Opal sighed.

"I'm older then I look." Said Alicia. "Whatever I am, we live a long time. A lot longer than humans."

They were quiet, and then Ally went for Opal's phone.

The peircing electronic song of Elise's cell phone rang out in the restaurant, and the woman scrambled for the offending piece of tech. Sides' holoform looked over with interest. "Is it her?" He asked, eagerly.

"Yeah." said Elise. She flipped it open, and smiled. "Hey, Ally. How are you, hon?"

Sides watched as she spoke animatedly to her sister, wondering how he never made the connection between Alicia and Elise Burton.

_You spent so much time with Elise, and you had no idea about her. You knew she had siblings, but you knew nothing about her hometown, her siblings' names, her friends. _

Sideswipe sighed as Elise closed her phone. "So?" He asked.

"I'm going to pick her up after we're done here."

"Do you need help?"

"Nope. I've got a rental, I'll pick her up in that. Unless you wanna tag along."

Sideswipe grinned a little sheepishly. "That's not a good idea. She doesn't like me."

"I find that hard to believe, Sides. You're one of the most likeable people I've ever met." Elise sipped some of her ice water, then looked closely at Sideswipe.

"Have they contacted you yet?" She asked.

The Autobot looked confused. "Who?"

"The ones who landed." Said Elise. "Do you know who they were? Or were they Con's?"

"Oh. Them." Elise instantly knew from his tone that he hadn't been.

"Yeah, I haven't heard a thing. I wrecked my comm unit years ago, so there's no way they could."

"Sorry, Sides." She said.

He shrugged. "Yeah, no worries. Anyways, it's getting late. You should go get Alicia."

"Where are you and Stirling staying?"

"Across town. But I'll be nearby. As long as Alicia's still evolving, and doesn't have control, she needs to be watched."  
"Stirling has?" Asked Elise.

"Not as much as some, but he can do some damage." Sides stood up, and Elise did too.

"It's been great." Said Elise. "A little weird."

Sideswipe chuckled. "Just wait. It gets worse the longer you stay with us."

Elise smiled. Suddenly, she hugged him. It was quick, and she ducked out again really soon, but it was still surprising.

"What was that for?" He asked.

She chuckled, and a smile crept over her lips. "Someone I haven't seen in ages."

He nodded. "You've changed, Lis."

"I'm not the only one. See you tonight."

Sideswipe left, sneaking through the parking lot to his body. He waited as Elise came out, hopping into her rental, a silver Honda, and driving out towards Opal's. The Autobot woke up his body, and headed towards the inn to check on Stirling, before, Elise got back with Alicia.

Elise and Ally sat in the car, quiet. Alicia was obviously still feeling a little sad. She'd said goodbye to Opal, and left a note for Tasha. She'd said thank you to Opal more times then Elise had cared to count, but Elise had understood. Opal hadn't had to take in Alicia,or feed her, or anything. But she had, and Elise was grateful to the older woman for that. It wasn't often that you came across a being like Opal Sinclaire.

They drove through town, Ally oddly quiet. Elise turned into the hotel lot, and parked.

"You're staying here?" Alicia demanded.

"Yup." Said Elise. "It's not the Ritz but it'll do."

"Geez, what'd you do? Marry some rich old guy?"

Elise snorted. "As if! C'mon, lets get inside."

The whole trip through the hotel was as quiet as the car ride. Up until Elise opened up her room, and turned on the lights.

"You!" Roared Ally.

Elise stared at the holoform in shock, wondering why he was up here. "Sides? What the hell?"

"Can you two get in here?" He asked. His face was drawn. "Please?"

Elise closed the door, still staring at the Autobot. "Sides, I thought you said-"

"I know what I said, Lis. But when you left, I went to check on Stirling at the inn, and he was gone. He'd left a note. Barricade's in town."

Alicia stared at her sister. Her face was white as a sheet, or more accurately, grey as protoform. "You know this guy?"

"Yeah." Said Elise, softly. "Ally, this is-"  
"Sides Jeager." Said Alicia. She looked at him suddenly. "But that's not really your name. And you're not really human, are you?" She said.

"No, I'm not." Said Sides, quietly.

"I knew you." Said Alicia, suddenly, looking at him. "Before they did this to me. You, and another. They didn't get you, too, did they?"

"No, Alicia." Said Sideswipe. "I'm still the way I was."

Alicia went to sit down, her movements slow. "I can't remember you." Said Alicia. Her voice was strangely monotone. "I feel like I should."  
"Trying too hard isn't a good idea, Alicia. Just saying. It causes blackouts."

Alicia nodded. "The headaches usually stop me." Suddenly, she reached into the little bag at her side. Neither of them had noticed it. She pulled out some pieces of paper, and held them out to Sideswipe.

"Do you know any of them?" She asked softly.

Sideswipe took them, and looked at the portraits. His hands began to shake as he saw faces he hadn't dared think of in years. Striker, Mirage, Cliffjumper, Deuce, Ratchet, even his own brother. There was one face he didn't recognize, but he set it aside with the others as he came to the last one.

His face.

Sideswipe looked at Alicia. "You drew these?"

"Yes." Said the girl. She brushed some hair back, and pointed at the one he held. "That's you, isn't it?"

Sideswipe nodded, and gave it back to Alicia. He looked strangely pained. "I'm going out. Keep Alicia in here, please, Elise."

The woman nodded. "Sure, Sides. But first, we need to talk."

She dragged him into the bathroom, shutting the door and leaving Ally in the chair with her sketches.

"Sides. Did you know her?"

He nodded numbly. "Yeah."

It took Elise a minute to say, softly. "Oh. It was like that, huh?"

"I need to go, Lis. Barricade, remember?"

"Sure as hell is one, Sides." Elise muttered. "I get you don't want to talk about it, but-"

"But nothing, Elise." Said Sideswipe. "The thing about Whitecurrent was that she had one concern, and it was win the war. Just, watch your sister."  
Elise watched him vanish, like a ghost. She turned, left the bathroom, and looked at her sister sadly.

"Hey."  
Alicia looked up. "Hey. He left, huh?"

"Yes." Said Elise.

Alicia looked at the face, Sideswipes face. "You know, I've seen these things forever."

"I know that now." Said Elise, quietly.

"Elise."  
"Yes?"  
"Are you scared of me? Because I'm not human?"

Elise chuckled. "No, Ally."

Alicia wasn't sure what to say. She closed her eyes. "I kind of thought you'd act like mom."

"Yes." Snorted her sister. "Cause I'm so much like Mom. Get some sleep, Ally. We're gonna have a lot of time to talk." She nodded to the bathroom. "There's extra stuff in the cabinet, and you can borrow some of my pj's. They're in the case by the chair."

As she brushed her teeth in the other room, Elise heard her sister shuffling around. When Ally poked her head around the door, Elise hadn't really expected her to hand over a piece of paper.

"Thanks, Lis." Said Alicia. Then she went to bed, leaving Elise with the piece of paper.

Elise unfolded it, and stared. It was a picture of a younger Elise, from before she'd left home. And next to it, was a picture of the younger Alicia, smiling as she hugged her older sister.


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay. I'm kinda sorta back. I am working on getting chapters done, and I have some waiting. There's just a lot of fun stuff going around here right now, and it's harder to get my writing done. I'm gonna try harder, as best I can.  
**

* * *

_**I knew who I was this morning,**_

_**but I've changed a few times since then.**_

_**-Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carrol. **_

* * *

_Alicia's POV_

I sit alone in the hotel room, and think. It is about one o'clock AM, and I can't sleep.

I'm too busy trying to access the fire walls keeping me from accessing my memories. It infuriates me. I feel like a should be able to reach them, and I can't.

And the worst thing is, I am starting to get inklings of the importance of these people in my life. I know they're there, but I cannot get to them.

And it hurts me more then I can bear.

* * *

_Normal POV_

The first thing Elise registered was a thud, like a body had hit the floor.  
She sat up, abruptly, and looked around. Ally was gone.  
"Alicia?"

There was no answer at first. Then, she heard a groan. Elise jumped out of bed, racing to her sister, who lay there on the floor, still as stone.

"Ally? Ally?"  
She shook her sister, trying to figure out what to do. She knew some first aid, but if Alicia was non-responsive to that, should she risk calling 911? With the protoform under Alicia's skin?  
"Goddamnit." Swore Elise.

She wondered vaguely, only a moment, if first aid was the same for slightly organic robotic aliens. Elise raised Ally's legs, checked her air flow, everything she'd been taught in that course her mother had made her take. Was it one minute before calling for aid?

* * *

"_And he said, well, what's it good for then?"_

_Sideswipe concluded the joke, laughing so hard Whitecurrent was worried he'd burst a line. Deuce and Cliff laughed, of course, while Mirage, Sunstreaker, Striker and Whitecurrent all either had half hearted smiles or looked just plain unimpressed. _

_Striker, a slender two-wheeler who attracted looks wherever she went, sighed loudly. "How overcharged do you have to be to get that?" She asked._

"_Obviously, we won't know until we get there." Said Sunstreaker, looking a bit under enthused. He took another sip from the energon cube in his servos, as Striker chuckled.  
"So, we're off tomorrow." Said Whitecurrent, softly. "Anyone else nervous?"  
"Why are you nervous?" Asked Deuce with a grin. "Everyone knows you and 'Raj were tapped for intelligence, and that's an easy assignment."  
"Tell that to the mech caught by Soundwave. Took months to figure out who he was." Said Cliff. "Word is, one of the medics was sent away to recuperate afterwards, and we have a shortage, so it must have been a bad one."_

_Whitecurrent crumpled up her energon cube and bounced it off of the red mech's horned head. He glared at her. "Hey!"_

"_What?" Asked Whitecurrent, with a smirk. _

"_You don't seem nervous, Green." Said Sideswipe. _

"_Hm. So I'm doing a better job then I'd thought." Said the dark painted femme. The lightness in her voice didn't carry to her face, and she closed her optics, as Sunny called for another round of energon._

* * *

_Whitecurrent ran along the corridor, cursing her sloppy work with every step. _

_Her comm was jammed, so no luck getting a pick up until they realised what was wrong, and even then, they may have to leave her behind, and she'd have to access the necessary protocols to insure the Decepticon's wouldn't get anything. It wasn't a pleasant prospect._

_There was a fork in the corridor. This was never good, but she could hear the mech's pursuing her. Left it is. _

_She continued to run, and she dared to hope she'd get out. _

_Dead end.  
Slag. _

_She looked around, saw the door, and sent a prayer out to whatever was listening. She looked at the keypad, charged up her hands, and shocked it through. _

_It was a small computer room, full of crates. She closed the door, looking for something to hide in. A vent, a crate, anything until they gave up._

_When the door opened again, it was quiet. _

_Roguestar looked around, his red optics narrowed. _

"_Sir, we know she came down here." Said a soldier. "There was no place else she could go-"  
"Except the other corridor and the numerous rooms in there. Get going." Snapped Roguestar. _

"_But sir, what about this room?" Asked the soldier. _

"_What about it?" Snarled Roguestar.  
"Shouldn't we search it?"_

_Roguestar turned, and glared. "Of course we'll search it. Now get." _

_The soldier scurried off, leaving Roguestar alone. There was silence. _

_Whitecurrent, huddled in the crate, couldn't believe her audials when the mech chuckled. "Good luck, femme." Said the blue and black mech. "It won't be this way if I corner you again."_

* * *

When Alicia awoke, the first thing she saw was Sideswipe's holoform. He was arguing with someone, Elise, from the sound of it.

"We can't let her get in the human's hands." Said Sideswipe. "We can't. It's not safe for her."  
"She's not moving, Sides!" Said Elise. "She's not breathing!"  
"She's not going to be like you anymore, Elise." Said Sides. "Do you have that bowl?"

"Yes. Why do you need it?"

"Get her head over the bed, and get out of the room. And get ready to leave."

The room was quiet, as Elise rolled Ally over onto her stomach, and put her head over the edge of the edge of the bed over a bowl or bucket.

"This is going to fun." said Sides. "How do you feel, Ally?"

Alicia mumbled. "Shitty."

Sideswipe sighed. "It's gonna get worse. Your body is going to start rejecting your internal human organs in place of your cybertronian ones. It's going to hurt, a lot, and it's going to be incredibly messy."

"Rejecting? What do you mean?"

Sideswipe's tone wasn't happy. "You don't want to know, Ally."

She was about to ask something else, when a horrible, sharp and growing pain growing in her stomach. It was like having the stomach flu, magnified.

Later, all Alicia would be able to think about that moment was the most disgusting thing she'd ever seen.

Elise Burton walked back into the room a little later, to see her sister lying on the bed, and Sideswipe sitting in the chair staring at a bowl full of, full of… something.

"What is that?"

Sideswipe looked thoroughly disgusted. "Your sister's human organs. I hate this part of the transformation."

"Wait, what?"

"Your sister's body rejected it's human organs in place of the cybertronian one's she's been developing. The first step is the protoform. The second is the basic internal organs, then her higher organs, senses, and the nervous system, will be replaced entirely with Cybertronian wiring."

"Has Stirling gone through this already?" Elise asked, a little sick.

"Yes, but before I got there, which was unfortunate. Being around other Cybertronian's speeds it up, and Stirling went through nearly two entire weeks of purging on his own." The holoform shuddered. "And this is the pleasant part. I'm hoping to get Ally out of here before it gets to the really fun stuff." He stood, carefully picking up the bowl.

"I'm going to dispose of this. Do you want to keep an eye on her, Elise?"

"What do I do?"

"Just keep her lying down. It won't be too hard. She's going to have all her energy diverted to her Cybertronian systems."

She nodded, and watched as he left, still feeling sick, and confused, and afraid for Ally. The door closed, and Elise and Ally were alone. Elise sat on the edge next to Ally, and found herself staring at the being in the bed.

The body there looked more like it was something wearing Alicia, not Alicia. She was strange, and alien, a doll.

And yet, what other sister had she known all these years? This was her Ally. It had to be.

All Elise could say, in the empty quiet of the room, was "I'm so sorry, Ally. I'm so sorry this is happening to you."

The only response was Alicia's frighteningly inhuman silence.

* * *

**So what do you think? Let me know what you think with a comment or PM. **

**Okay. I will try harder to get my stuff together and get chapters out more. **

**Until next time, ya'll**

**Nevra**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello. I'm back, again, and late, again. Sorry. **

**On a happier note, Happy Summer! Yaaaaaay!**

* * *

Alicia awoke, feeling the kind of pain that one probably felt after being crushed by a semi truck and living through it.

She looked around, blurry sight falling on the man standing beside her bed. She tried to flinch back, only to realise she couldn't. It was like sleep paralysis.

"Alicia. Relax. It's me, Sideswipe."

She stared at him, her green eyes hooded and tired. "God, I feel like a zombie." She said, her voice hoarse. "Bet I look like one, too."  
"A bit." He said, chuckling. "It shouldn't hurt much longer, though."

"How reassuring." She said. Alicia's voice softened a little. "Sideswipe."  
"Yeah?"

"How many years have I been gone?"

"Hundreds."  
"Who's still alive?"

Sideswipe looked up with surprise at the woman lying on the bed. "I don't know, I've been stuck on this rock without communications for nearly two decades."

"Who do you remember?"

"Ally, I don't know if that's a good idea. Your memories are dangerous to screw with so early."

"My name was Whitecurrent, of the Autobots." She said, quietly. "My parents were killed in a bombing, leaving me and my older brother Deuce as the only survivors. Ratchet helped care for us. You and Sunny were our best friends since I was a sparkling. I remember the day we met. So far I'm not glitching, Sideswipe."

Sides was quiet.

Alicia closed her eyes. "I remember the day I died."

"We all remember that. Cliffjumper, Mirage, Deuce."

"Deuce." Said Ally. "What happened to my brother, Sideswipe?"  
There was silence in the hotel room. Sides seemed to weighing truth with a little kindness.

"He went after Starscream, didn't he?" Alicia's voice was dangerously toneless.

"He found the lab where they'd dragged you. He went in alone, never came out."

Alicia's fist clenched, her face contorting. "They did the same thing to him, made him a pretender, didn't they?" Her eyes widened in horror. "Did they get Sunny, too?"

"No." Said Sideswipe. "We were seperated when Prime sent us here to Earth."

"Who all survived, then?"  
Sides leaned back a little. "Prime had Bumblebee, Ratchet, Ironhide, and Jazz with him when I left. Mirage, Cliffjumper and Crosshairs were stationed on a base near Cybertron under Prowl's command, and last I heard Drift was off on his own somewhere. Rumours even say he's left the Autobots completely, but I doubt it. Those are the ones I'd heard about last before I was dumped here."

"We were scattered."

"Like dust. We lost, Whitecurrent."

"A battle, not the war. We still have a chance. We need to find Optimus. He's on Earth."  
"No. First, you're going to finish converting. Then, we'll find the boss."

"What about Elise?"

"She can come with us, if she wants. She's a big girl."

He stood, about to leave, when she said a little loudly. "I missed you, Sideswipe."

The Autobot smiled. "I missed you too, Green."

* * *

_Whitecurrent sat in the middle of no where, cleaning to the best of her abilities a stab wound inflicted on her by a Decepticon earlier._

_He was dead, like her partner, who'd been slower than the energon blade. The 'Con had been stupid enough to get close, though, thinking the femme was unarmed, and had been shot at point blank range._

_She wished that the pickup would come earlier, so she could get a proper repair. But there had been complications of some kind to insure it'd take a while.  
So, here she was, alone, unable to find the source of a distress message. Sighing, she stood up, and decided she'd best look for shelter. It was getting late, and getting caught out in the open on an alien planet at night wasn't on her to do list._

_The cave looked promising when she found it. Whitecurrent peered in, cautiously looking about. It was pretty dark. She had her blaster ready in case of threat, not wanting to use up all the extra energy in her shocks. She couldn't afford it unless there was an emergency. _

_She shone a light inside, and stepped in, seeing it had a visible back. Foolishly, she missed a corner._

_Arms wrapped around her, holding her close, and a voice whispered in her audials. "Well, well, what have we here?"_

_A familiar voice. _

_Dammit, not him again.  
"Roguestar!" _

_The Decepticon mech chuckled. "So, it is you. Who'd have thought you'd come to investigate." He released the femme, and she turned to glare at him. Only to see he was wounded, quite badly, in the torso.  
"What the pit happened to you?" She demanded. _

"_Ah, a little backstabbing is all." He said, casually. "I didn't kill him, sadly."_

"_Indeed." Said the femme, slowly. Whitecurrent seemed to think. _

"_You're most welcome to stay." Said Roguestar. "I won't bite."_

"_Depends. Why'd you send out an Autobot distress signal?"_

"_I figured I'd try both sides and see which one comes first. I'm not too picky when I'm dying."_

_Roguestar seemed quite flippant about the whole thing. Whitecurrent studied him carefully, her optics cold, calculating._

"_How about a truce." She said._

"_Pardon?" Roguestar asked. _

"_A truce. I fix you up so you don't bleed out, and I can stay here. We go our separate ways tomorrow, and that's that."_

_He mulled it over. "I could kill you." He said. "Go back on my word."  
"So could I. But I won't." _

_There was silence, Autobot and Decepticon going over their options. Finally, in the quiet, Roguestar said "Alright. I agree."_

_Whitecurrent nodded, and smiled a little. _

"_What's so amusing?"  
She shrugged. "Just thinking." Whitecurrent brought out the field repair kit, looking every once in a while at the mech sitting across from her. He watched her every move, as she turned around with the tools in hand. He noticed the patch job between chest and torso plating, rather hastily done. _

"_I see you ran into my friend." He said. "He dead?"  
"Very." Said Whitecurrent, with a tone of finality.  
He smirked. "Well, that saves me the effort later." _

"_How lovely." Said Whitecurrent. Silence fell again as she worked, until she said, "Why'd you help me, a while back?"_

"_Pardon?"  
"When I broke into a base. You were there, and sent away the other soldiers when they were looking for me."_

"_Ah. That. No idea."  
"You had to have had a reason."  
"I think I was angry at Soundwave." He said, absently. "Or was it Barricade?"_

_Whitecurrent rolled her optics. "So, you'd sabotage your entire organization to get at a mech you were angry at?"_

"_Yes."_

_She looked up at him, shrugged and stood. "I see." She said, cleaning up as best she could.  
"No, you don't." He said. _

"_You're right, I don't." _

"_How'd you like a different answer?"_

"_Is it the truth?" She asked, turning her back to walk away._

"_Yes." _

_She stopped, as he also stood, and listened._

"_You didn't deserve what they'd have done to you."  
She laughed, a little. "Like that's stopped any Con in the past."_

"_The difference is, Whitecurrent, it was the Cause's ruling. It was mine."_

_She turned, slowly. "That doesn't really answer why." She said. _

"_It's enough."_

"_No, it's not. You don't get to wave things like that around in front of me and pull them away."  
"That wasn't one of the truces conditions." He said with a grin. _

_She paused. "I could shock it out of you."  
"It'd be amusing to see you try." He said. "Shocking me is going to be a little harder to do now that I know."  
"Really?" She said, quirking an optic ridge. Curiosity seemed to get the better of her, and he chuckled. "Try." He said, offering a servo._

"_No thanks." She said, softly. He was close now, too close. She should move away. She should, right now.  
When he kissed her, it was quick, only a few seconds, and then he was gone, like he'd been testing the waters. She stood there in shock, staring at him. Saying nothing, but thinking at once, this isn't good, and Oh, Primus, the twins, and in a little, tiny corner of her mind, do it again._

_She glared at him, feeling she should have seen that coming, and said softly. "Don't do that again, or I will shoot you."_

_He smirked a little. "Sorry." He said._

_Roguestar didn't act sorry though, and she kept her gun pointed in his direction until morning, when they parted ways._

* * *

**And awkward. Hope you all enjoyed.  
**

**A thank you to GoldenEagle13 for their lovely feedback, and to everyone who has followed and favourited. It is greatly appreciated! **

**Luv ya'll!**

**-Nevra**


	13. Chapter 13

But the rain is full of ghosts tonight

That tap and sigh upon the glass….

and listen for a reply.

-Edna St. Vincent Millay

* * *

Walking into the room, the first thing Sideswipe noticed was the lack of Alicia.

The next thing, the bathroom door was closed.

The third, final and most problematic, the techno-organic lying in the chair scowling at the Transformer with decided malice.

"Sides, you will not believe what I found out." Said Stirling, in a tone that made Sides very unhappy.

"What?"  
"That human females are stupid, stubborn idiots who can't take a hint!" The youth said a little louder than he should have.

The bathroom door opened, and an auburn haired young woman poked her head out and said sweetly, "Shut up, please. My friend is traumatized." Looking carefully at Sideswipe, the girl frowned. "Hello. You're Sides, I hope. Cause if you're not, I'm not going to be happy."  
"Um, who are you?" Sides asked.

"Tasha. Ally's friend. And she kinda needs your help and won't let me call 911, even though she's kinda started bleeding everywhere."  
Sides was suitably alarmed, and ran to join Tasha in the bathroom as Stirling called after him "Ally's predicament isn't even the fun part, eh, Sides! You'll never believe this, but I saw a funny looking cop car outside Ally's house. Punish and enslave on it."

Sideswipe saw Ally sitting on the edge of the tub, a wad of toilet paper in her nostrils, and a desperate look in her eyes.

"Aw, shit." Said Sides. He leaned against the door, and sighed. This was so karma for all the times he and Sunny had tormented the officers, he just knew it.

"Well, Tasha, it's nice to meet you, but we gotta run. Stirling, go find Elise, please. Ally, we gotta get you out of here."

"Hey, wait a minute-" Began Tasha, only to be stopped by Ally.

"He's right, Tash." Said the techno organic. "Things are going on that could get you hurt. I'm sorry, but if something happened to you I'd never forgive myself."

Tasha crossed her arms. "Okay. Here's the deal. I followed little Miss Sunshine over there back here on a Nancy Drew type hunch, and I found my best friend here bleeding everywhere, and I'm not leaving her here with you numbskulls. She's obviously in trouble, and trouble is our thing. M'kay?"

Ally sighed. "My god, Tasha, I love you but you have no clue what's going on here. You could die. And you won't come back."

In the other room, on his way out the door, Stirling suddenly started laughing. "Yeah. Funny story, actually." He said.  
"Out, Stirling!" Snapped Sideswipe. "Now!"

The male pretender left, snickering. Sideswipe looked at Tasha. "Tasha. I get what you're saying. Trust me. But I need you to understand what Alicia and I are telling you. We cannot involve your people anymore than necessary. Not without going against everything we stand for."

After a second he added, "But we'll try and bring her back to you, Tasha. We'll try our damndest."

Alicia smiled at her friend. "You'll be okay, Tash."

The girl swallowed, and nodded. "Fine. But if you die, Alicia Burton, I'll find your soul or whatever the fuck it is and get even."

Ally laughed, and blood dripped on the floor. Sides groaned. "Alright, you, me, on the move, Ally. Elise and Stirling will meet us at the safe house. Tasha, leave here a little after us, okay?"

There was a rebellious spark in Tasha's eyes, but she nodded. "Fine."

"Good." Said Sideswipe. He looked carefully at her. "And if you even think about pulling a stupid move like following us, the consequences are your fault, not mine. Understood?"

Tasha nodded, watching as they left. As the door closed, the teenager felt for moment like this was only the beginning.

* * *

The safehouse was a small cabin that was currently unoccupied for some reason. Stirling and Sides always agreed on a place like this when they moved to a new town, just in case something happened and they needed to crash. Cabins, warehouses, sheds, guest houses, abandoned wings of old buildings, barns. If it was easy to hide in, they'd crash there if they had to.

Ally sat at the table. It was a half a week since the nosebleeds and headaches had started, and they hadn't gotten better. Sometimes, they were blinding, white light and white noise and little else. Sometimes, she just couldn't feel them. Painkillers no longer helped, water was repulsive to her now and she would puke it up, and sleep wasn't much good when your whole skull hurt. Sideswipe had considered giving her a large dose of energon, but worried that would speed the process up to painful levels. Alicia was to the point she just wanted to get it over with, pain be damned.

She looked up at the tv Stirling had set up, and saw the news footage there with a sudden and sinking feeling. Mission City, with grainy footage of creatures. Giant robotic creatures.

"Sideswipe!" She cried.

The holoform materialized beside her in an instant. "What?" He asked, looking for signs of stress. "What's wrong?"

"Look."  
The Autobot looked at the screen for a minute, at the words 'Mission City', 'Giant Robots', 'Hoax', 'Conspiracy', and 'Ruins'. He sat down beside Alicia, and looked at her.

"Well, that can't be good." He said dryly."

"What can't be good?" Asked Stirling, walking into the room as a scene of wreckage flicked onto the screen. Alicia stared at it for a minute, zoning out as Sideswipe updated Stirling.

_-there was fire everywhere. She'd never been on the front lines before, not since the day her parents died. It was worse than she'd expected, and here she was, a spy stuck doing a frontliners job. _

"_Behind ya!" Yelled Jazz, pushing her out of the way as a large Decepticon leapt at Whitecurrent. The femme turned, energy in her palms as she touched her foe, sending him into shock for Jazz to finish off. _

_Gunfire came from thin air to her left, showing 'Raj to be around, and Jolt, Sideswipe, Sunny and Dino were having some fun with Bonecrusher. The city around the battle burned like smelting pits. Buildings Whitecurrent knew were shops and dwellings once became twisted skeletons, empty and devoid of life. Whitecurrent ducked inside a relatively safe one to adjust her gun, growling at the faulty trigger. Dammit, why did it have to break now?_

_A gasp was heard behind her. Whitecurrent turned to stare at the mech cowering behind the counter. He was small and pretty banged up, colouration almost unrecognizable._

_Whitecurrent would always remember his expression of utter horror as they locked optics, and Bonecrusher hit the building, sending the inferno collapsing on the strange mechs body.-_

"Alicia!" Screamed Elise, shaking her sister. "Ally, c'mon, wake up! Wake up!"

"Elise!" Said Sideswipe. "Calm down."  
"Here." Said Stirling, oddly the calm voice in this situation. "Elise, come with me. Sides has something to deal with."

"What?" Demanded Sideswipe.

"Look at Ally, now, Autobot." Said the pretender, pushing Elise away without another word.

So Sideswipe did. And promptly realized that she was in the secondary stage of the purge, that is, the skull, brain, remainder of the nervous system and her eyes were now going through the final stages of the transformation.

As he ran to the sink, all he could think about was at least the hard part was underway.

* * *

Stirling sat outside Elise's door, staring at the drawing of his former body with melancholy that didn't fit him. He'd wondered about her, the strange familiarity he'd started to sense within her, dulled by their organic forms. A dull pain in his chest stung, as he realised without a doubt that Ally was Whitecurrent. And since she was Whitecurrent, he'd have to go through it all again as soon as she remembered him.

* * *

Alicia woke up, and saw the world through different eyes. She looked around, slowly, and stared at the wall for a moment. Readouts, data, wholeness she hadn't felt in years.

"How do you feel?"

Ally looked up to see Elise sitting at the edge of the bed. Her sister seemed subdued, quiet.

"Great." Ally said, with some surprise.

Elise nodded. "Stirling was telling me about it. Waking up the first time, after months of pain and confusion. The unity, the energy. The confidence." Elise looked sadly at the younger girl. "What's it like, being one of them?"

"I always was, Lis." Said Alicia. "I about as human as Sideswipe. I just wore more plausible skin."

Elise just stood there. There was something wrong, Ally could feel it.

"Still think I'm not a monster, Elise?"

Elise smiled a little. "I dunno. How terrible is that?"

* * *

"So you want to go find Optimus?" Said Stirling.

Sideswipe sat outside the cabin, in full robot mode. He looked down at his friend. "Yeah. I gotta. There's a chance of finding my teammates and brother. Are you going to join me?"

"Nope. Ex-decepticon sleeper weapon ain't gonna fly even with your Prime, Sides."

"So what'll you do?"

"Go my own way. Maybe head to someplace I can blend in, like Chicago or something."

"Need a lift?" Sides asked.

"Funny enough, I survived before you came into my life, Sideswipe." Said Stirling. After a minute, he said "I'm gonna ask Ally to come with me."

Sideswipe froze. "Oh?"  
"She'll be safer away from other Cybertronians, Sides. We both know it." In a quieter tone, "She's Whitecurrent, in a tiny body. A body designed to help conquer this planet."

"Have you dismantled the code yet, Stirling?" Sides asked.

"No. I just ain't Deuce. He's the one who made me my own entity without the strings." Stirling sighed. "I gotta do it though. Otherwise we'll have hell on our hands."

* * *

Ally looked down at the two mechs, wondering what had Stirling up so late. He'd be such a grump tomorrow. Great.

Alicia sighed, turning to get in the bed when suddenly there was a flash of code. Alicia froze, because suddenly there was someone in the room. A tall, mechanoid figure, with a single red optic.

"So this is where you ran off to." Said the creature. "I have need of your services, Alicia. Come to me."  
Alicia shook her head. "Like hell I will. Who are…."  
She suddenly remembered darkness, and pain, and that optic. That fucking, fragging, horrible optic. Alicia backed away, slowly.

"Resistance is futile. The coding's still inside you." Said Shockwave in that monotone voice. "Come here."

Alicia wanted to scream. No. No. Stirling had debugged her. This couldn't happen.

This couldn't happen.

This could…

"I am on my way."


	14. Chapter 14

To be alive at all

is to have scars

-John Steinbeck

* * *

Elise walked upstairs to the bedroom, a plate of nachos in her hand. "Ally? I thought you were going to join us downstairs?"

There was no reply. Elise thought maybe Ally had collapsed, so she quickly dashed towards the room, plate falling to the floor. "Ally? Alicia, answer me!"  
No answer. The room was empty, nothing touched. Heart pounding, Elise quickly looked in all the other rooms, more and more frantic as she realised that Ally wasn't in the house.  
She raced outside, looking at the boys with wide eyes. "Is Alicia out here?"

Sideswipe and Stirling exchanged a glance, instinctively knowing what happened.

"No, she's not, Elise." Said Stirling. The tone he addressed her with, different from his usually snide and bitter one, made Elise sick. She knew then, that whatever Ally was, it had taken over. And she denied it viciously.

"No. Alicia's stronger that the 'Con's lies. It wouldn't have just happened."  
"It's what she was made for." Stirling said. "If Shockwave anticipated a problem in her, he'd have made the codes stronger. There's no hope for her now, Elise."  
The human woman gaped at him. "You're just going to give up? How dare you!"  
"We don't have a choice, woman!" Stirling snapped.

"Stirling-" Sideswipe warned.

"I tried saving an activated pretender! Her name was Striker. I tried, and in the end, there was nothing I could do. Her last lucid act was jumping off a bridge onto pavement." Stirling glared at Elise. "If you want Alicia's blood on your hands, go ahead, Elise. If she doesn't kill you first, she might be able Alicia long enough to put a bullet in her-"  
"Roguestar! Enough!"

Stirling shot a glare at Sideswipe. "She's your fleshie." He growled, before going inside the house and slamming the door behind him.

Elise stood there in front of the Cybertronian, arms wrapped around her torso as she looked at the ground. "What a little bitch." She said. Sides caught the tremor in his friend's voice, and crouched down.

"I'm sorry, Elise." He whispered.

"I thought you deactivated the codes." She said.

"We did as well, Lis. It's like Stirling said. Shockwave must have anticipated a problem with her in the future." Sideswipe closed his optics, and felt Elise lean against his leg.

"There has to be something." She said. "I, I need to get in contact with some people, Sides."

Curiosity almost made the mech snoopy, but he wasn't sure this was a good time. He nodded, backing up and transforming down.

"I'll let Stirling know where we're going, and drive you to town Elise."  
Elise wiped a tear away, nodding. "Thanks, Sides. I just need my bag."

She and the holoform went inside, and Elise went up the the room she was occupying. She had three bags, but two were for show. The smallest one was all she actually needed, and she opened it up, checking her luger quickly before returning it to it's place, closing the bag and going downstairs, jaw set as she turned the corner.

"Ready, Sides." She said, hand caressing the side of the bag as she did so.

* * *

3 months later

Stirling Turner crossed the street, hunched up, watching each human with care. He moved towards his apartment complex, ever vigilant like a hunted gazelle. New York was a good place for him to hide in. People, activity, constant movement, constant sound.

He had no fear of discovery here, he thought with satisfaction. He had a new life. He worked a minimum wage job at a Mom and Pop grocery, an apartment he rented, was experimenting with alternatives to energon and had found two decent substitutes for the time. It wasn't much, but he was surviving. And since he didn't have to eat and didn't have much for waste, he could easily keep up on rent and afford a few luxuries now and then.

He sighed as he entered his apartment building, checked his mailbox before heading upstairs to his third floor apartment. Stirling fumbled for the key, unlocked his door and stepped inside, grumbling softly. He set the mail on the kitchen counter, back turned to the living area.

"Nice place."  
The stranger didn't even flinch as Stirling whirled threateningly. "Who the fuck are you and why are you in my apartment?"

The stranger was a large, powerfully built male, military type from his hair to his cloths, who spoke with a British accent. "Name's not important til I know who you are and why the hell my buddy wanted me to check on you."  
"I don't care. Get out. I don't need what you're selling."  
"The name Sides Jeager mean anything to you, punk?"

Stirling's eyebrow went up, and he stared at the home invader. His red eyes were obvious to the man sitting on his couch, who didn't look impressed.

Stirling rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Fucking hell, that guy just can't take a hint. Yeah. Unfortunately, that moniker of his is familiar. What did the little dumbass do this time, get his Corvette impounded?"

"You don't need to play that game with me, boy." The man snorted. "Sideswipe'll work fine."

Stirling was quiet, gauging the situation. "So, what are you. One of them, one of us..?"

The military man shrugged. He wasn't a talker. Great, this'll go far.  
"My names Stirling. All you need to know. I know the nosey silver fragger."  
"Don't like him?"  
"Don't like what he represents. Your war, and all the casualties of it."

"Cute." Rumbled the man.

Sides looked through what he remembered from his time spent with Sideswipe, trying to see if he could match this guy up with the Cybertronian his holoform belonged to.

"Well, you checked on me, I'm fine, go away." The young pretender snapped.

"I dunno about that. The readings I'm getting from you make me uncomfortable, punk."

"Your comfort isn't my problem, Ironhide." Said Stirling. No reaction from the man across from him. "Now leave. Door's right there."

Ironhide stood, and looked dangerously at the kid for a minute. Something was wrong about this creature. It looked human, but the eyes, and the energy readings were anything but.

"And, Ironhide. If you feel like it, please remind Sideswipe to sod off and mind his own business. For all our sakes."  
And his attitude. What Ironhide wouldn't give for a gun to shoot that smug little face.

Ironhide gone, Stirling sat down and groaned. They'd never leave him alone. None of them. And where there are Autobot's, the ones the young pretender wanted to meet least would show up as well.

Why couldn't they all leave him with what he wanted most?

Peace.

* * *

_Whitecurrent was with the twins. By Primus, she was either ignorant or just plain cold, ignoring the poor mechs attentions. The yellow one was subtle, the silver bordering obnoxious in his advances. It was painful to watch. _

_Roguestar sighed, walking on and praying she wouldn't notice him. He looked a little different, but he wouldn't dare bet credits against her perceptiveness. It was good enough for his purposes._

_He crept towards the goal, trying to look like an Autobot with purpose. This was a busy post, a new face wasn't unusual. He just prayed no one would stop him. _

_He smirked, entering the room where'd he'd meet his contact. He stretched._

_The jolt of energy went up Roguestar's spinal strut, and he dropped, crawling behind some boxes for cover._

"_Really, Roguey. Over confidence doesn't suit you."  
The Decepticon groaned. "Whitecurrent… you were with-"  
"Sunny and Sides? I was, but I noticed you creeping around. I'm assuming you're looking for Nox?"_

_Called it, he thought dryly. "Who?"  
"Oh please, Roguestar, please show some respect for the femme who keeps kicking your aft."  
"Twice. You have subdued me, twice."_

"_More than you have me." Said Whitecurrent. "Now, this puts me a predicament. I like you, Roguey, and I could let you go, but then you interrupted my date."  
"You were on a date with those two idiots?" _

_Whitecurrent smiled. "Yes. I was, as much as we can date a quadrant away from a war zone. I'm not happy, Roguestar. My boss will probably be on his way-"  
"Shit. Jazz or Prowl?"_

"_Are either pleasant prospects?" _

"_No."_

_She fired up her shockers again, and Roguestar winced. "Could you not? I'm not giving up secrets, Whitecurrent, if that's what you want."  
"While they'd be lovely I think I'd-"_

_She was cut off by the sound of the code being inputted. "Frag!" Chorused the two._

_The door opened, and Jazz entered the room, looking around. What he saw was Whitecurrent and a strange mech up against the wall, and with that Jazz groaned.  
"I'd say get a room but…."  
Whitecurrent broke off, narrowing her optics at her commander. "Boss, I, uh, why are you here?"_

"_An alarm was triggered. Remember, Nox was havin' his meetin' in here."  
"I thought I disabled that…" Whitecurrent sighed. _

_Jazz looked shrewdly at the femme. Something was up, and he doubted it was just her making out with another mech behind the Twin's backs. He was tempted to keep an eye on her, but opted that this was not the time. He'd do what he had to about this later. Jazz gave her a look, before exiting. _

_Whitecurrent turned and looked Roguestar in the optics. "Well, now I'm in shit. At least I know he won't tell Sunny and Sides I was practically interfacing with a total stranger."  
"I'm not a stranger." Roguestar said in an offended tone. _

"_No. You're a Decepticon spy I keep running into and who keeps trying to frag me."  
"I do not-" The shock came suddenly, but this time he was ready. When it didn't work, the femme looked surprises._

"_You make energy, I take it." Said Roguestar. "Fun, right?"_

"_I can't believe I made out with you."  
"It was for a good cause. i'll repay the debt someday soon. Promise."  
And he was gone. _


End file.
